^ 


Division  L_»  A  (o  A>  «J  1 
Section  .V'4  I  5 


A 

SHORT  HISTORY 

OF  THE 

BAPTISTS 


A 
SHORT  HISTORY 

OF  THE 

BAPTISTS 

IHcw  ano  IFllustrateJ)  JEOltlon 


By  y 
HENRY  C  VEDDER 


Philadelphia 

American  Baptist  Publication  Society 

1630  Chestnut  Street 


Copyright  1907  by  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society 


Published  March,  1907 


jfrom  tbe  Soctctie's  own  prcas 


TO 

Zbc  IRoble  arms  ot  fHlattgrB 

WHO  SUFFERED  THAT  THE 
TRUTH  MIGHT  PREVAIL:  IN 
THE  HOPE  THAT  COMING 
GENERATIONS  WILL  PROVE 
NO  LESS  BRAVE,  NO  LESS 
LOYAL  TO  THE  TRUTH 


PREFACE 

The  first  edition  of  this  "Short  History"  was  pubhshed 
in  January,  1892.  This  first  edition  has  long  been  out 
of  print.  The  fire  of  February  2,  1896,  consumed  all 
the  stock  of  books  on  hand.  The  author  then  proposed 
that,  instead  of  reprinting  from  the  old  plates,  the 
Society  thenceforth  publish  two  editions  of  the  work  : 
one  to  be  a  small  book  that  could  be  sold  at  a  merely 
nominal  price,  the  other  a  larger  volume  with  illus- 
trations. This  proposal  was  favorably  received,  and  the 
first  part  of  the  project  was  at  once  realized  in  the 
"  Phoenix  edition."  In  the  revision  of  the  text  for  that 
edition  a  considerable  amount  of  new  matter  was  added. 

The  second  part  of  the  project  was  by  no  means  so 
easy  a  matter,  and  a  decade  has  been  required  for  its 
accomplishment.  It  required  a  restudy  of  the  whole 
field  covered,  step  by  step,  with  utmost  care.  It  involved 
the  careful  rewriting  of  the  entire  work  and  the  addition 
of  much  new  matter.  It  included  months  of  foreign 
travel,  and  the  collection  of  an  immense  quantity  of 
illustrative  material,  only  a  small  part  of  which  has 
proved  available  for  this  edition.  The  book  now  in  the 
reader's  hand  contains  more  than  twice  as  much  matter 
as  the  first  edition,  yet  the  volume  is  not  too  big  nor 
the  story  too  prolix,  it  is  believed,  to  justify  the  retention 
of  the  original  title  of  "A  Short  History  of  the  Baptists." 

The  book  has  thus  grown  to  what  the  author  hopes 
will  prove,  so  far  as  the  text  is  concerned,  its  definitive 

vii 


VIU  PREFACE 

form.  But  he  still  cherishes  a  hope  that,  at  some  future 
time,  his  ideas  regarding  its  illustration  may  be  more 
completely  realized.  No  sane  publishers  would,  how- 
ever, incur  the  necessary  expense  of  such  illustration 
unless  fully  assured  of  support  in  so  doing.  Our  Publi- 
cation Society  has  gone  to  the  present  limit  of  prudence 
in  this  matter.  If  the  Baptists  of  America  would  like  an 
edition  of  this  history,  with  all  of  the  interesting  and 
valuable  portraits,  ancient  edifices,  facsimiles  of  docu- 
ments, and  other  curious  and  instructive  illustrative 
matter  in  the  author's  possession  or  at  his  command, 
they  have  only  to  make  that  wish  unmistakably  known 
and  they  can  have  it.  The  unmistakable  evidence  of 
their  desire  (need  it  be  added  ?)  will  be  a  sale  of  this 
present  edition  commensurate  with  the  favor  that  has 
been  shown  to  its  predecessors. 

The  author  gladly  takes  this  opportunity  of  expressing 
his  obligations  to  the  friends  who  have  given  assistance 
in  his  work,  especially  to  those  who,  by  pointing  out  its 
imperfections,  have  made  possible  its  betterment.  A 
host  of  good  Christian  people,  by  no  means  confined  to 
our  own  denomination,  have  sent  words  of  commen- 
dation, of  counsel,  of  helpful  suggestion.  To  such,  one 
and  all,  thanks  have  been  returned  in  the  one  convincing 
way  :  by  leaving  nothing  undone  to  make  the  book 
worthy  of  their  appreciation. 

Special  thanks  are  due  to  Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam's 
Sons  for  their  supplying  five  duplicate  plates  from  their 
"Heroes  of  the  Reformation"  series,  and  to  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  for  the  loan  of  the 
beautiful  half-tone  portrait  of  John  M.  Peck. 

Crozer  Theological  Seminary,  February,  1907. 


PAGE 


CONTENTS 

PREFACE vii 

INTRODUCTION       3 

PART  I 
HISTORY  OF  BAPTIST  PRINCIPLES 

Chapter  I.  The  New  Testament  Churches— History  .    .     13 
The  Great  Commission.    The  ingathering  at  Pentecost. 
Conversion  of  Saul.      The  gospel  preached  to  Gentiles. 
Antioch  and  the  beginning  of  Christian  missions.     The 
empire  evangelized. 

Chapter    II.     The    New    Testament    Churches— Con- 
stitution       24 

Founded  on  believers'  baptism.  Baptism  of  infants 
unknown.      Ordinances  and  officers.      Worship. 

Chapter  III.     Christianity  and  the  C^sars 35 

Christians  and  the  Roman  law.  Martyrdom  of  Perpetua 
and  Felicitas.  Toleration  granted.  Attacks  of  heathen 
philosophers.  The  Christian  apologists.  Defeat  in  victory. 

Chapter  IV.     The  Holy  Catholic  Church 44 

Signs  of  degeneracy.  Exaggerated  ideas  about  unity. 
Sacramental  grace.  Clinic  baptism.  Baptism  of  infants. 
The  catechumenate.  Sacerdotalism.  Growth  of  the 
episcopate.     Asceticism. 

Ch.\pter  V.     The  Struggle  for  a  Pure  Church  ...     57 
Montanism.        Novatians.        Donatists.        Arianism. 
Athanasius  and  the  triumph  of  orthodox)-. 

Chapter  VI.    The  Eclipse  of  Evangelical  Christianity  .     71 
Patrick    and    the    gospel    in     Ireland.      Evangelical 
Christianity  in  the  East.     The  Bogomils. 

Chapter  VII.     Foregleams  of  the  Dawn 80 

Arnold  of  Brescia.  Savonarola.  Wiclif.  Hus. 
The  Moravians, 


X  CONTENTS 

FAGB 

Chapter  VIII,     The  Wrath  of  the  Dragon 95 

Origin  of  persecution.  Its  theory.  Effect  of  the 
medieval  heresies.  The  fourth  Lateran  Council.  The 
Albigensian  crusade.  Rise  of  the  Inquisition.  Its 
Methods.     The  lesson. 

Chapter  IX.     The  Old  Evangelical  Party no 

Protestants  before  Protestantism.  The  Petrobrusians. 
Henry  of  Lausanne.  Waldo  and  the  Waldensians. 
Waldensian  teachings. 

Chapter  X.     Grebel  and  the  Anabaptists 129 

Their  origin.  Zwingli  and  the  beginning  of  reform  in 
Zurich.  Anabaptism  introduced.  Persecution  of  the 
leaders.  Zwingli' s  responsibility.  Anabaptists  in  Bern. 
The  Schleitheim  Confession. 

Chapter  XI.     Anabaptism  in  Germany 145 

Unhistorical  treatment  of  the  party.  The  Zwickau 
"prophets."  Balthasar  Hiibmaier.  John  Denck.  Their 
views  of  civil  government.  Persecution  by  all  govern- 
ments. 

Chapter  XII.  The  Outbreak  of  Fanaticism  .  .  .  .167 
Condition  of  German  peasants.  Decay  of  feudalism 
and  the  social  revolution.  Thomas  AUinzer  and  the 
peasant  uprising.  Luther' s  tracts  against  the  peasants. 
Hofmann  and  his  teachings.  The  Miinster  uproar. 
Savage  persecution  of  the  Anabaptists. 

Chapter  XIII.  Menno  Simons  and  his  Followers  .  .  184 
Menno's  life  and  labors.  Toleration  in  the  Nether- 
lands. Baptism  among  the  Mennonites.  Their  contro- 
versies and  divisions.  Mennonites  in  England.  Their 
martyrs  :  Joan  Boucher,  Hendrik  Terwoort,  Edward 
Wightman. 

PART  II 
A  HISTORY  OF  BAPTIST  CHURCHES 

Chapter  XIV.     The  Early  Days 201 

John  Smyth  and  his  church  at  Amsterdam.  His 
baptism.  Church  removes  to  London.  Growth  of 
General  Baptists.     Spurious  claims  of  antiquity.     Origin 


CONTENTS  XI 

PAGE 

of  Particular  Baptists.      Introduction  of  immersion   in 

1641.      Survival  of  affusion  till  1653.  Controversy  with 

Separatists.       Confession    of    1644.  William     Kiffen. 
Hanserd  KnoUys. 

Chapter  XV.     The  Struggle  for   Liberty 219 

The  Long  Parliament  and  civil  war.  Presbyterian 
intolerance.  Baptists  during  the  Protectorate.  Opposed 
to  monarchy.  Fifth  Monarchy  movement.  The  Resto- 
ration. General  Thomas  Harrison.  John  James.  Act 
of  Uniformity  and  persecutions.  John  Banyan.  Bap- 
tists under  James  II.  Act  of  Toleration.  Baptist 
customs  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Chapter    XVI.      The    Second    Reformation    and    its 

Consequences 237 

The  next  fifty  years.  Confession  of  1688.  Decline 
of  General  Baptists.  First  Associations.  Hyper- 
calvinism.  John  Gill.  General  declension  of  religion. 
John  Wesley  and  his  work.  Results  on  Church  of 
England.  Dan  Taylor.  Andrew  Fuller.  William 
Carey  and  the  missionary  revival. 

Chapter  XVII.     The  Nineteenth  Century 256 

Growth  of  churches.  New  missionary  organizations. 
Bible  Translation  Society.  Robert  Hall.  Charles 
Haddon  Spurgeon.  Open  communion  in  England. 
Education.    Six-principle  Baptists.   Seventh-day  Baptists. 

Chapter  XVIII.     Baptists  in  the  Greater  Britain  .    .   269 
Baptists    in    Wales  :    John    Myles,   Vavasor    Powell. 
Recent  history.      Baptists  in  Scotland  :   Archibald  Mc- 
Lean, the   Haldanes.      Baptists   in   Ireland  :   Alexander 
Carson.      Baptists  in  Canada.      Baptists  in  Australasia. 

Chapter  XIX.     Baptists  in  the  Colonies 287 

Three  periods  of  American  Baptist  history.  Roger 
Williams  and  the  first  Baptist  church.  John  Clarke  and 
the  Newport  church.  Henry  Dunster.  Whipping  of 
Obadiah  Holmes.  First  church  in  Boston.  William 
Screven  and  the  Charlestown  church.  Beginnings  in  the 
Middle  States.  The  Philadelphia  Association.  Baptist 
churches  in  the  South. 

Chapter  XX.     The  Period  of  Expansion 308 

Worldliness  invades.  The  Great  Awakening.  Heze- 
kiah    Smith.       The     Revolution.       Morgan     Edwards, 


Xll  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Progress  of  the  churches.  Religious  hberty  attained. 
The  Westward  movement.  The  pioneer  preacher.  John 
M.  Peck  and  the  Home  Mission  Society.  The  Judsons 
and  their  work.  Luther  Rice  and  the  Triennial 
Convention. 

Chapter  XXI.     The  Days  of  Controversy 335 

Unitarianism  in  New  England.  The  American  Bible 
Society  and  the  controversy  about  versions.  Formation 
of  the  American  Bible  Union.  A  long  controversy. 
The  Saratoga  Convention.  The  anti-Masonic  excite- 
ment. Ale.xander  Campbell  and  the  Disciples.  The 
anti-slavery  controversy  and  the  division  of  Baptists. 

Chapter  XXII.     Evangelism  and  Education 350 

Periods  of  revivals.  State  and  local  work.  Develop- 
ment of  educational  institutions.  James  Manning  and 
Brown  University.  Newton  Theological  Institution. 
The  institutions  at  Hamilton.  Other  colleges  and 
seminaries.     The  American  Baptist  Publication  Society. 

Chapter  XXI II.     The  Last  Fifty  Years 362 

Baptist  churches  in  1850.  Numerical  growth  of  fifty 
years.  Progress  in  education.  Growth  of  foreign 
missions.  Increase  of  home  missions.  Work  of  the 
Publication  Society.  Comparative  denominational 
wealth.      Counter  currents. 

Chapter    XXIV.      Baptists    in    the    United    States — 

Irregular  Baptist  Bodies 384 

■  Six-principle  Baptists.  Original  Freewill  Baptists. 
V  Free  Baptists.  Separate  Baptists.  LTnited  Baptists. 
General  Baptists.  Primitive  Baptists.  '  Two-seed-in- 
the-Spirit  Baptists.  .Baptist  Church  of  Christ.  ,  Seventh- 
day  Baptists.  ^  Winebrennerians.  River  Brethren. 
Adventists.  Christadelphians.  Christian  Connection. 
Social  Brethren. 

Chapter  XXV.     Baptists  in  Other  Countries    ....  394 
France.      Germany.      Sweden.      Norway.      Denmark. 
Russia.      Greece.     Spain.      Italy. 

Chapter  XXVI.     Progress  of  Baptist  Principles     .    .410 
The  nature  of  the  church.    The  baptismal  controversy 
ended.    The  communion  question.    Separation  of  Church 
and  State.     Theological  changes.     The  guarantee  of  the 
future. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Perpetua Frontispiece 

From  a  Mosaic  in  tlie  Archbishop's  Palace,  Ravenna. 

The  Mamertine  Prison,  Rome 14 

Where    Paul    and    Peter  (according  to    tradition)    were 
imprisoned. 

The  Three  Fountains 22 

The  traditional  scene  of  Paul' s  martyrdom. 

Nero 28 

From  a  photograph  of  the  bust  in  the  Capitoline  Museum, 
Rome. 

Trajan 36 

From  the  same  source. 

Marcus  Aurelius 42 

From  the  same  source. 

The  Baptistery  of  St.  John  Lateran 52 

From  a  photograph  of  the  interior,  showing  the  ancient 
pool. 

The  Baptistery  at  Pisa 64 

From  a   photograph  of  the  interior,  showing  the  raised 
font. 

The  Old  Cathedral  at  Brescia 74 

From  a    photograph    of  the   exterior  ;    the    interior   is 
now  an  ecclesiastical  museum. 

Statue  of  Arnold 82 

Erected  by  the  municipality  at  Brescia. 

xiii 


XIV  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGfi 

Savonarola 88 

From   a  photograph  of  the  portrait  by  his  disciple,  Fra 
Bartolommeo. 

Savonarola's  Execution 90 

From  an  old  picture  that  now  hangs  in  Savonarola's  cell. 

Savonarola 94 

From  the  Luther  Monument  at  Worms. 

WiCLiF 100 

From  the  same. 

The  Martyrdom  of  Hus 108 

A  contemporary  picture. 

The  Hus  Memorial  at  Constance 116 

Hus 120 

From  the  Luther  Monument  at  Worms. 

Waldo 124 

From  the  same. 

HULDREICH     ZWINGLI I30 

The  most  authentic  portrait  of  the  Swiss  reformer.^ 

The  Old  Council  Hall  of  Zurich 136 

(Here  the  disputations  took  place.)    From  an  old  print.' 

Zurich  and  the  Limat 142 

(Here  the  Anabaptists  were  drowned.)     From  a  photo- 
graph. 1 

BALTHASAR   HilBMAIER 1 5© 

From  an  old  print.' 

NiKOLSBURG  IN   1678 160 

From  an  old  print.* 

1  By  courtesy  of  the  publishers,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 


iLLUSTRAtlONS  XV 

PAGE 

A  Group  of  Radical  Leaders 170 

From  engravings  in  an  old  history  of  Anabaptists. 

MuNSTER — The  Church  of  St.  Lambert 180 

From  a  pjiotograph  (the  cages  may  be  seen   upon  the 
tower). 

Menno  Simons 186 

From  an  engraving  prefixed  to  his  works. 

William  of  Orange 194 

From  a  portrait  in  the  museum  at  Cassel,  Germany. 

William  Kiffen 206 

From  a  contemporary  engraving. 

Hanserd  Knollys 216 

From    a    portrait    prefixed     to    his     "Parable    of    the 
Kingdom, ' ' 

Oliver  Cromwell 222 

From   the  portrait  by  Sir  Peter  Lely,   now   in  the  Pitti 
Palace,  Florence. 

General  Thomas  Harrison 228 

From  "Thomas  Harrison,  Regicide  and  Major-General," 
by  C.  H.  Simkinson. 

John  Bunyan 234 

From  a  drawing  by  Robert  White  in  the  British  Museum. 

John  Gill 240 

From  the  engraving  prefixed  to  his  "Body  of  Divinity." 

Andrew  Fuller 248 

From  the  portrait  prefixed  to  his  collected  works. 

The  Birthplace  of  William  Carey 250 

From  an  old  wood  engraving. 


XVI  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The  Kettering  House  where  the  English  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society  was  Organized  in  1792    ,    .    .    .  252 

Robert  Hall 260 

From  the  engraving  prefixed  to  his  Works. 

Charles  Haddon  Spurgeon 266 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  middle  age. 

The   Myles  Memorial 298 

From  a  photograph. 

The  First  Baptist  Meeting-house  in  Boston 300 

From  an  old  print. 

John  M.  Peck " 322 

From  a  portrait  in  oil  now  at  Shurtleff  College.^ 

Adoniram  Judson , 336 

The  best  extant  likeness. 

Spencer  H.  Cone 346 

From  the  engraving  prefixed  to  his  biography  by  his  sons. 

James  Manning 354 

From  the  engraving  prefixed  to  Guild's  biography. 

The  Haystack  Monument 374 

From  a  photograph. 

1  By  courtesy  of  the  "  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Monthly." 


INTRODUCTION 


INTRODUCTION 

The  word  Baptists,  as  the  descriptive  name  of  a  body 
of  Christians,  was  first  used  in  EngHsh  hterature,  so  far 
as  is  now  known,  in  the  year  1644.  The  name  was  not 
chosen  by  themselves,  but  was  applied  to  them  by  their 
opponents.  In  the  first  Confession  of  Faith  issued  by 
the  Particular  Baptists  in  1644,  the  churches  that  pub- 
lished the  document  described  themselves  "  as  commonly 
(but  unjustly)  called  Anabaptists."  While  they  repudi- 
ated the  name  Anabaptist,  they  did  not  for  some  time 
claim  the  new  name  of  Baptists,  seeming  to  prefer  "Bap- 
tized believers,"  or,  as  in  the  Assembly's  Confession  of 
1654,  "Christians  baptized  upon  profession  of  their 
faith."  These  names  were,  however,  too  cumbrous,  and 
they  finally  fell  in  with  the  growing  popular  usage.  The 
name  Baptists  seems  to  have  been  first  publicly  used  by 
one  of  the  body  in  1654,  when  Mr.  William  Britten  pub- 
lished "The  Moderate  Baptist."  The  first  official  use  of 
the  name  is  in  "  The  Baptist  Catechism  "  issued  by  the 
authority  of  the  Assembly.  The  surviving  copies  of  this 
document  are  undated,  and  we  only  know  that  it  was 
prepared  and  printed  "  some  years  "  after  the  Assembly's 
Confession. 

For  the  fact  that  the  name  Baptist  comes  into  use  at 
this  time  and  in  this  way,  but  one  satisfactory  expla- 
nation has  been  proposed :  it  was  at  this  time  that  Eng- 
lish churches  first  held,  practised,  and  avowed  those  prin- 
ciples ever  since  associated  with  that  name.  There  had 
been  no  such  churches  before,  and  hence  there  was  no 
need  of  the  name.  The  name  Anabaptist  had  been  well 
known,  and  it  described  not  unfairly  from  the  point  of 

3 


4  INTRODUCTION 

view  of  those  who  invented  it,  the  principles  and  prac- 
tices of  a  body  that,  under  various  names,  had  existed 
from  the  eleventh  century.  The  Anabaptists  denied  the 
scripturalness  of  infant  baptism,  and  insisted  on  a  bap- 
tism upon  profession  of  faith.  But  the  Anabaptists,  for 
the  most  part,  were  content  to  practise  the  rite  of  bap- 
tism as  they  saw  it  in  vogue  about  them ;  that  is  to  say, 
sprinkling  or  pouring.  They  gave  little  attention  to  the 
act  of  baptism,  regarding  the  subjects  of  baptism  as  a 
matter  of  far  greater  importance,  as  indeed  it  is.  The 
English  Anabaptists  seem,  at  the  beginning  of  their  his- 
tory, to  have  differed  not  at  all  from  the  other  branches 
of  the  party  in  this  respect;  but  about  the  year  1640  the 
attention  of  some  among  them  was  called  to  the  question 
of  the  fitting  act  of  baptism  according  to  the  Scriptures, 
and  the  introduction  of  immersion  soon  after  followed. 
The  name  Baptists  came  to  be  applied  to  them  almost 
at  once  as  descriptive  of  their  new  practice. 

The  history  of  Baptist  churches  cannot  be  carried,  by 
the  scientific  method,  farther  back  than  the  year  161 1, 
when  the  first  Anabaptist  church  consisting  wholly  of 
Englishmen  was  founded  in  Amsterdam  by  John  Smyth, 
the  Se-Baptist.  This  was  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  Bap- 
tist church,  but  it  was  the  direct  progenitor  of  churches 
in  England  that  a  few  years  later  became  Baptist,  and 
therefore  the  history  begins  there.  There  were  before 
this  time,  it  is  true,  here  and  there  churches  that  might 
fairly  be  described  as  Baptist.  Such  was  the  church  at 
Augsburg  about  1525,  commonly  called  Anabaptist,  but 
practising  the  immersion  of  believers  on  profession  of 
faith ;  such  were  some  of  the  Swiss  Anabaptist  churches, 
apparently;  such  were  some  of  the  Anabaptist  churches 
of  Poland.  But  we  find  such  churches  only  here  and 
there,  with  no  ascertainable  connection  existing  between 
them.     Further  research  may  establish  such  connection, 


INTRODUCTION  5 

or  may  bring  to  light  additional  instances ;  but  it  must 
be  confessed  that  there  is  no  great  probabiHty  of  such 
result.  At  any  rate,  there  are  no  materials  for  a  history 
in  such  facts  as  are  now  known.  A  history  of  Bap- 
tist churches  going  farther  back  than  the  early  years  of 
the  seventeenth  century  would,  therefore,  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  knowledge,  be  in  the  highest  degree  un- 
scientific. The  very  attempt  to  write  such  a  history  now 
would  be  a  confession  of  crass  ignorance,  either  of  the 
facts  as  known,  or  of  the  methods  of  historical  research 
and  the  principles  of  historical  criticism,  or  of  both. 

"  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
church,  and  the  gates  of  hades  shall  not  prevail  against 
it."  Such  was  the  reply  of  our  Lord  when  his  ever-confi- 
dent disciple  answered  the  question,  "  Who  say  ye  that 
I  am?"  in  the  memorable  words,  then  for  the  first  time 
uttered,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God."  The  Church  of  Rome  points  to  this  text  as  con- 
clusive proof  of  her  claims  to  be  God's  vicegerent  on 
earth,  the  true  church,  against  which  the  gates  of  hades 
shall  not  prevail.  It  further  points  to  its  unbroken  suc- 
cession, and  a  history  which,  if  dim  and  uncertain 
at  the  first,  since  the  fourth  century  at  least  has 
not  a  break,  and  not  improbably  extends  back  to  the 
apostolic  era,  if  not  to  Peter  himself.  It  challenges  any 
of  the  bodies  that  dispute  its  claim  to  show  an  equal  an- 
tiquity and  a  succession  from  the  days  of  the  apostles 
as  little  open  to  serious  question.  Those  that  accept  this 
test  and  fail  to  meet  it  must  confess  themselves  schis- 
matics and  heretics,  resisters  of  God,  and  doomed  to 
overthrow  here  as  well  as  condemnation  hereafter. 

]\Iany  Protestants  make  haste  to  accept  Rome's  chal- 
lenge to  battle  on  her  chosen  ground.  Certain  Angli- 
can divines  have  great  faith  in  a  pleasing  tradition  that 
the  Church  of  England  was  founded  by  the  Apostle  Paul 


O  INTRODUCTION 

during  a  third  missionary  tour  hinted  at  in  the  New 
Testament  but  not  described ;  and  they  flatter  themselves 
that  they  thus  estabUsh  an  antiquity  not  second  to  that 
of  Rome.  Some  Baptists  have  been  betrayed  into  a 
similar  search  for  proofs  of  antiquity,  misled  by  the  idea 
that  such  proof  is  necessitated  by  the  promise  that  "  the 
gates  of  hades  shall  not  prevail  "  against  the  true  church. 
If  then,  they  reason,  Baptist  churches  are  true  apostolic 
churches,  they  must  have  existed  from  the  days  of  the 
apostles  until  now  without  break  of  historic  continuity. 
This  exaggerated  notion  of  the  worth  of  antiquity  as  a 
note  of  the  true  church  is  strengthened  by  the  theory  of 
baptism  held  by  some ;  namely,  that  no  one  is  bap- 
tized unless  he  is  immersed  by  one  who  has  himself 
been  immersed.  This  is  to  substitute  for  the  apostolic 
succession  of  ''orders,"  which  the  Roman  Church  boasts, 
an  apostolic  succession  of  baptism.  The  theory  compels 
its  advocates  to  trace  a  visible  succession  of  Baptist 
churches  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  to  our  own,  or 
to  confess  that  proof  is  lacking  of  the  valid  baptism  of 
any  living  man. 

But  it  is  plain  that  in  thus  accepting  the  challenge  of 
Rome  Protestants  in  general,  the  Baptists  in  particular, 
commit  as  great  an  error  in  tactics  as  in  exegesis.  To 
assume  the  necessity  of  an  outward  continuity  in  the  life 
of  the  church  is  gratuitously  to  read  into  the  words  of 
our  Lord  what  he  carefully  refrained  from  saying. 
Rome,  for  her  own  purposes,  assumes  the  only  possible 
import  of  the  words  to  be  that  Christ's  church  will  have 
a  historic  continuity  that  can  be  proved  by  documentary 
and  other  evidence.  But  this  is  by  no  means  the  nec- 
essary meaning  of  Christ's  promise.  The  church  that 
he  said  he  would  build  on  the  rock,  to  which  he  guar- 
anteed victory  against  the  gates  of  hades  itself,  is  not 
a  visible  body — that  is  the  great  falsehood  of  Rome — 


INTRODUCTION  7 

but  the  assembly  of  those  in  all  the  ages  who  truly  love 
God  and  keep  the  commandments  of  Christ.  Of  these 
there  has  been  an  unbroken  line,  and  here  is  the  true 
apostolic  succession — there  is  no  other.  Through  the 
continuous  presence  of  this  church  and  not  along  any 
chain  of  visible  churches,  the  truth  has  descended  to  our 
days.  Christ's  promise  would  not  be  broken  though  at 
some  period  of  history  we  should  find  his  visible  churches 
apparently  overcome  by  Satan,  and  suppressed;  though 
no  trace  of  them  should  be  left  in  literature;  though 
no  organized  bodies  of  Christians  holding  the  faith  in 
apostolic  simplicity  could  be  found  anywhere  in  the 
world.  The  truth  would  still  be,  as  he  had  promised, 
witnessed  somewhere,  somehow,  by  somebody.  The 
church  does  not  cease  to  be  because  it  is  driven  into  the 
wilderness. 

To  Baptists,  indeed,  of  all  people,  the  question  of 
tracing  their  history  to  remote  antiquity  should  appear 
nothing  more  than  an  interesting  study.  Our  theory  of 
the  church  as  deduced  from  the  Scriptures  requires  no 
outward  and  visible  succession  from  the  apostles.  If 
every  church  of  Christ  were  to-day  to  become  apostate, 
it  would  be  possible  and  right  for  any  true  believers  to 
organize  to-morrow  another  church  on  the  apostolic 
model  of  faith  and  practice,  and  that  church  would  have 
the  only  apostolic  succession  worth  having — a  succession 
of  faith  in  the  Lord  Christ  and  obedience  to  him.  Bap- 
tists have  not  the  slightest  interest  therefore  in  wrest- 
ing the  facts  of  history  from  their  true  significance; 
our  reliance  is  on  the  New  Testament,  and  not  on  an- 
tiquity ;  on  present  conformance  to  Christ's  teachings,  not 
on  an  ecclesiastical  pedigree,  for  the  validity  of  our 
church  organization,  our  ordinances,  and  our  ministry. 

By  some  who  have  failed  to  grasp  this  principle,  there 
has  been  a  distressful  efifort  to  show  a  succession  of 


8  INTRODUCTION 

Baptist  churches  from  the  apostoHc  age  until  now.  It 
is  certain,  as  impartial  historians  and  critics  allow,  that 
the  early  churches,  including  the  first  century  after 
the  New  Testament  period,  were  organized  as  Baptist 
churches  are  now  organized  and  professed  the  faith  that 
Baptist  churches  now  profess.  It  is  also  beyond  ques- 
tion that  for  fully  four  centuries  before  the  Reforma- 
tion there  were  bodies  of  Christians  under  various  names, 
who  professed  nearly — sometimes  identically — the  faith 
and  practice  of  modern  Baptists.  But  a  period  of  a 
thousand  years  intervenes,  in  which  the  only  visible 
church  of  unbroken  continuity  was  the  Roman  Church, 
which  had  far  departed  from  the  early  faith. 

The  attempt  has  been  made,  at  one  time  or  another, 
to  identify  as  Baptists  nearly  every  sect  that  separated 
from  the  Roman  Church.  It  will  not  suffice  to  prove  that 
most  of  these  sects  held  certain  doctrines  from  which 
the  great  body  of  Christians  had  departed — doctrines  that 
Baptists  now  hold,  and  that  are  believed  by  them  to 
be  clearly  taught  in  the  New  Testament — or  that  the 
so-called  heretics  were  often  more  pure  in  doctrine  and 
practice  than  the  body  that  assumed  to  be  the  only  or- 
thodox and  Catholic  Church.  This  is  quite  different 
from  proving  the  substantial  identity  of  these  sects  with 
modern  Baptists.  Just  as,  for  example,  it  is  easily  shown 
that  Methodists  and  Presbyterians  hold  a  more  biblical 
theology  and  approach  nearer  to  apostolic  practice  than 
the  Roman  or  Greek  churches ;  while  yet  all  know  that 
a  considerable  interval  separates  them  from  Baptists.  It 
is  one  thing  to  prove  that  the  various  heretical  sects  bore 
testimony,  now  one,  now  another,  to  this  or  that  truth 
held  by  a  modern  denomination ;  and  quite  another  thing 
to  identify  all  or  any  of  these  sects  with  any  one  modern 
body.  This  is  equally  true,  whether  the  investigation  be 
confined  to  polity  or  to  the  substance  of  doctrine. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

In  thus  emphasizing  the  divergences  of  the  early  and 
medieval  sects  from  the  teaching  of  the  Bible,  as  Bap- 
tists have  always  understood  that  teaching,  no  denial  is 
implied  of  the  excellent  Christian  character  manifested 
by  the  adherents  of  these  erroneous  views.  In  many  in- 
stances the  purest  life  of  an  age  is  to  be  found,  not  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church,  but  among  these  de- 
spised and  persecuted  sectaries.  Not  one  of  them  failed 
to  hold  and  emphasize  some  vital  truth  that  was  either 
rejected  or  practically  passed  by  in  the  church  that 
called  itself  orthodox.  God  did  not  leave  his  truth  with- 
out witnesses  at  any  time.  Now  a  sect,  now  an  indi- 
vidual believer,  like  Arnold  of  Brescia  or  Savonarola, 
boldly  proclaimed  some  precious  teaching,  perhaps  along 
with  what  we  must  regard  as  pernicious  error.  But  it 
is  impossible  to  show  that  any  one  person,  or  any  one 
sect,  for  a  period  of  more  than  a  thousand  years,  con- 
sistently and  continuously  held  the  entire  body  of  truth 
that  Baptists  believe  the  Scriptures  to  teach,  or  even  all 
its  vital  parts.  It  is  possible  that  with  further  research 
such  proof  may  be  brought  to  light:  one  cannot  affirm 
that  there  was  not  a  continuity  in  the  outward  and  vis- 
ible life  of  the  churches  founded  by  the  apostles  down 
to  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  To  affirm  such  a  neg- 
ative would  be  foolish,  and  such  an  affirmation,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  could  not  be  proved.  What  one 
may  say,  with  some  confidence,  is  that  in  the  present 
state  of  knowledge  no  such  continuity  can  be  shown  by 
evidence  that  will  bear  the  usual  historic  tests.  Indeed, 
the  more  carefully  one  examines  such  literature  of  the 
early  and  medieval  church  as  relates  to  the  various 
heretical  sects,  the  stronger  becomes  his  conviction  that 
it  is  a  hopeless  task  to  trace  the  history  of  the  apostolic 
churches  by  means  of  an  unbroken  outward  succession. 
A  succession  of  the  true  faith  may  indeed  be  traced,  in 


lO  INTRODUCTION 

faint  lines  at  times,  but  never  entirely  disappearing;  but 
a  succession  of  churches,  substantially  like  those  of  our 
own  faith  and  order  in  doctrine  and  polity — that  is  a 
will-o'-the-wisp,  likely  to  lead  the  student  into  a  morass 
of  errors,  a  quagmire  of  unscholarly  perversions  of  fact. 
The  special  feature  of  this  history  is  that  it  attempts 
frankly  to  recognize  facts,  instead  of  trying  to  maintain 
a  thesis  or  minister  to  denominational  vanity.  Begin- 
ning with  a  survey  of  the  history  and  constitution  of  the 
New  Testament  churches,  in  which  all  Baptists  profess 
to  recognize  the  norm  of  doctrine  and  polity,  the  process 
by  which  these  churches  were  perverted  into  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church  of  the  succeeding  centuries  is  quite  fully 
traced.  The  story  of  the  gradual  suppression  of  evan- 
gelical Christianity  having  thus  been  told,  the  next  step 
is  to  show  the  reverse  process — the  gradual  renascence 
of  evangelical  Christianity.  This  is  the  sum  of  Part  I., 
the  history  of  Baptist  principles.  The  second  Part  is  de- 
voted to  the  history  of  actual  visible  Baptist  churches, 
and  every  statement  of  fact  made  is  carefully  based  on 
documentary  sources.  For  the  important  question  is,  not 
how  much  may  be  guessed  or  surmised  or  hoped  about 
our  history  as  Baptists,  but  how  much  may  be  known. 


PART  I 
HISTORY  OF  BAPTIST  PRINCIPLES 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  NEW   TESTAMENT  CHURCHES — HISTORY 

"/■"^O  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the 
V_T  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you ; 
and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  In  this  parting  injunction  of  the  risen  Lord  to 
his  disciples,  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  aptly  called 
the  marching  orders  of  the  ministry,  we  have  the  office 
of  the  Christian  Church  for  the  first  time  defined.  In 
obedience  to  this  command  the  early  Christians  preached 
the  gospel,  founded  churches,  and  taught  obedience  to 
Christ  as  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Christian  life. 
And  though  many  of  them  could  say  with  Paul  that  they 
spent  their  days  "in  labor  and  travail,  in  watchings  often, 
in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  naked- 
ness," they  found  it  a  faithful  saying  that  their  Lord 
was  with  them  alway.  In  so  far  as  the  church  in  all 
ages  has  been  obedient  to  Christ's  command  it  has 
experienced  the  truth  of  this  promise. 

It  is  significant  that  in  his  teaching  Jesus  mentioned 
the  church  but  twice,  and  then  only  toward  the  close  of 
his  ministry.  The  distinctive  feature  of  his  teaching  is 
the  setting  up  among  men  of  the  kingdom  of-  God — a 
kingdom  not  of  this  world,  but  spiritual,  into  which  he 
only  can  enter  who  has  been  born  from  above,  who 
is  meek,  childlike,  spiritually  minded.  Being  spiritual, 
this  kingdom  is  invisible,  but  it  has  an  outward,  bodily 
manifestation,  an  institutional  as  well  as  an  incorporeal 

13 


14  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

existence.  That  manifestation  is  the  church,  the  eccle- 
sia,  those  "called  out"  from  the  world  and  gathered  into 
a  society  whose  aim  is  the  extension  of  the  kingdom. 

This  church  potentially  existed  from  the  day  when  two 
disciples  of  John  the  Baptist  followed  Jesus  and  be- 
lieved on  him  as  the  Messiah  (John  i :  35-40)  ;  but  of 
actual  existence  as  an  organized  society  of  believers  dur- 
ing the  life  of  Jesus  no  trace  appears  in  the  four  Gospels. 
The  day  of  Pentecost  marks  the  beginning  of  the  defi- 
nite, organic  life  of  the  followers  of  Christ.  The  descent 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  according  to  the  promise  of  the  Lord, 
was  the  preparation  for  the  great  missionary  advance, 
of  which  the  conversion  of  three  thousand  on  that  one 
day  was  the  first  fruits.  Not  only  did  this  multitude  hear 
the  word  and  believe,  but  on  the  same  day  they  were 
"added  to  the  church,"  which  can  only  mean  that  they 
were  baptized.  It  was  once  urged,  as  an  objection  to 
the  teaching  and  practice  of  Baptists  regarding  baptism, 
that  the  immersion  of  so  many  people  on  a  single  day  is 
physically  impossible.  The  missionary  history  of  our 
own  time  has  silenced  this  objection  forever,  by  giving 
us  a  nearly  parallel  case.  In  1879,  at  Ongole,  India, 
two  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  Telugu  con- 
verts were  baptized  on  a  single  day  by  six  ministers,  two 
administering  the  ordinance  at  a  time ;  the  services  being 
conducted  with  all  due  solemnity,  and  occupying  in  all 
-nine  hours. 

The  baptism  of  this  great  multitude  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  was  not  only  their  public  confession  of  faith  in 
Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  and  their  formal  induction  into 
the  company  of  believers,  but  the  beginning  of  a  new 
life  of  Christian  fellowship.  For  a  time  at  least,  this  fel- 
lowship took  among  the  saints  at  Jerusalem  the  form  of 
virtual  community  of  goods,  and  this  so-called  "Chris- 
tian communism"  is  often  held  up  as  a  model  for  the 


THE   NEW   TESTAMENT  CHURCHES — HISTORY  1 5 

life  of  Christians  in  all  ages.  "And  the  multitude  of 
them  that  believed,"  says  the  record,  "were  of  one  heart 
and  soul ;  and  not  one  of  them  said  that  aught  of  the 
things  which  he  possessed  was  his  own ;  but  they  had 
all  things  in  common.  .  .  For  neither  was  there 
among  them  any  that  lacked,  for  as  many  as  were  pos- 
sessed of  lands  or  houses  sold  them,  and  brought  the 
price  of  the  things  that  were  sold,  and  laid  them  at  the 
apostles'  feet ;  and  distribution  was  made  unto  each  ac- 
cording as  any  one  had  need."  It  is  evident  to  one  who 
reads  the  entire  account  that  this  was  a  purely  voluntary 
act  on  the  part  of  the  richer  believers,  prompted  by  a  de- 
sire to  relieve  those  whom  the  peculiar  emergency  had 
made  specially  needy.  The  optional  nature  of  the  sales 
and  gifts  is  evident  from  the  words  of  Peter  to  Ananias, 
who  with  Sapphira  conspired  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Spirit — 
"Whiles  it  [the  property  Ananias  had  sold]  remained,  did 
it  not  remain  thine  own?  And  after  it  was  sold,  was  it 
not  in  thy  power  ?  "  To  sell  all  one's  goods  and  distribute 
unto  the  poor,  though  proposed  by  Jesus  to  the  rich  young 
ruler  as  a  test  of  his  desire  for  eternal  life,  was  not  a 
general  condition  of  discipleship,  even  at  this  time  and 
place.  But  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  after  the 
temporary  stress  had  been  relieved,  this  community  of 
goods  continued  among  even  the  Jerusalem  brethren, 
while  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  no  other  church 
in  the  apostolic  age  practised  anything  of  the  kind.  There 
is  entire  silence  on  the  subject  in  the  Epistles  and  the 
remainder  of  the  Acts — a  thing  inconceivable  if  Chris- 
tian communism  had  been  a  fundamental  principle  of 
the  apostolic  churches.  It  is  not  wise  or  fair  to  draw  a 
sweeping  conclusion  as  to  present  duty  from  premises  so 
narrow  and  uncertain. 

The  saints  at  Jerusalem  had  all  been  born  and  bred 
as  Jews,  and  they  had  no  idea  that  by  becoming  fol- 


l6  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

lowers  of  Christ  they  had  ceased  to  be  Jews.  They  were 
daily  in  the  temple,  and  scrupulously  fulfilled  all  the 
duties  prescribed  by  the  law  of  Moses.  Nor  did  the 
Jewish  authorities  regard  them  as  adherents  of  a  dif- 
ferent religion ;  they  were  rather  a  sect  or  party  among 
the  Jews  than  a  separate  body.  This  is  not  to  say  that 
they  were  approved  by  the  priests  and  the  Sanhedrin ; 
on  the  contrary,  very  soon  persecution  of  them  began. 
The  Sadducees  were  the  first  to  proceed  against  them,  on 
the  avowed  ground  that  the  apostles  "proclaimed  in  Jesus 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  The  result  of  this  persecu- 
tion was  a  fresh  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  a 
new  advance;  a  multitude  of  believers  were  added,  until 
the  number  of  men  alone  became  five  thousand.  The 
Sadducees  had  the  experience  of  persecutors  in  all  ages, 
that  "  heresy  "  is  like  a  firebrand,  and  he  who  attempts 
to  stamp  out  either  by  violence  only  scatters  the  sparks, 
until  the  little  fire'  becomes  a  great  conflagration. 

About  four  years  -after  Pentecost  a  fresh  persecution 
was  begun.  The  stoning  of  Stephen  was  its  first  act, 
and  this  was  followed  by  a  systematic  and  determined 
effort  to  extirpate  this  new  heresy.  This  time  it  was  the 
Pharisees  who  led  the  persecution,  and  prominent  among 
them  was  Saul  of  Tarsus.  The  disciples  at  Jerusalem 
were  dispersed,  but  they  became  preachers  of  the  gospel 
wherever  they  went.  They  had  come  to  Jerusalem  from 
distant  places,  and  had  tarried  there ;  now  they  would 
naturally  return  to  their  homes  and  carry  with  them 
their  glad  tidings  of  salvation  through  Jesus,  the  Christ. 
Thus  a  persecution  that  at  first  seemed  likely  to  be  fatal 
to  the  church  at  Jerusalem  really  ensured  the  perpetuity 
of  Christ's  religion  by  scattering  its  adherents  throughout 
Asia  Minor. 

Shortly  after  this  occurred  an  event,  improbable,  in- 
credible even,  if  it  were  not  certain,  fraught  with  con- 


THE   NEW   TESTAMENT   CHURCHES — HISTORY  1/ 

sequences  most  profound  and  far-reaching  to  Christi- 
anity, nothing  less  than  the  sudden  conversion  of  its 
bitterest  opponent.  Saul,  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Gama- 
liel and  learned  in  the  law,  renowned  for  his  zeal  in  per- 
secuting the  church  of  God — in  which,  like  so  many  other 
persecutors  since,  he  verily  believed  he  was  doing  God 
a  service — was  stricken  down  and  blinded  on  his  way  to 
harry  the  saints  at  Damascus,  by  the  appearance  in  the 
heavens  at  midday  of  the  Christ  whom  he  persecuted. 
Three  days  later,  with  sight  miraculously  restored,  he 
was  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  Christ's  followers, 
and  soon  was  as  zealous  in  preaching  the  truth  about  the 
Messiah  to  the  Jews  as  he  had  formerly  been  in  oppos- 
ing those  who  held  it.  Persecuted  by  the  Jews,  dis- 
trusted by  the  Christians,  he  had  to  pass  through  a  long 
and  painful  ordeal  before  he  became  fitted  for  the  work 
to  which  God  had  separated  him  from  birth.  Three 
years  were  spent  in  seclusion  in  Arabia,  and  several  other 
years  in  obscure  labors,  before  his  fitness  for  a  larger 
service  was  recognized  by  his  brethren. 

In  the  meantime,  Philip,  one  of  the  deacons  of  the 
church  at  Jerusalem,  seems  for  a  time  to  have  stepped 
into  the  place  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Stephen.  He 
preached  the  gospel  in  Samaria,  and  wrought  miracles ; 
many  believed  and  were  baptized,  both  men  and  women. 
None  of  these  converts,  so  far  as  appears,  was  a  Gentile ; 
and  the  eunuch  shortly  afterward  baptized  by  Philip  was 
doubtless  a  Jewish  proselyte.  Slow  of  heart,  indeed, 
were  the  followers  of  Christ  to  admit  that  any  but  a 
Jew  could  be  saved  through  Christ.  They  still  regarded 
themselves  as  Jews ;  the  gospel  was  a  gospel  for  Jews ; 
salvation  was  for  Jews. 

The  first  recorded  case  of  preaching  the  gospel  to 
a  Gentile  is  that  of  the  centurion,  Cornelius,  of  Csesarea, 
When  Peter  had  gone  to  him  in  obedience  to  a  vision; 

B 


l8  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

when  he  had  preached  Christ  to  him  and  his  friends 
and  they  all  believed ;  when  the  Holy  Spirit  fell  upon 
them,  so  that  they  spoke  with  tongues  and  glorified  God ; 
the  apostle  felt  that  he  had  but  one  course,  and  he  un- 
hesitatingly baptized  them.  "  Who  was  I  that  I  could 
hinder  God,"  he  said,  in  recounting  the  affair  to  the 
church  at  Jerusalem  on  his  return ;  and  they,  though  they 
had  at  first  doubted  and  criticised,  were  in  turn  convinced 
that  this  was  the  work  of  God,  and  glorified  him,  saying : 
"  So  then,  to  the  Gentiles  also  God  has  given  repentance 
unto  life."  The  conversion  of  Cornelius  therefore  marks 
an  era  in  the  history  of  Christianity,  since  it  was  never 
after  questioned  that  the  gospel  was  to  be  preached  to 
Gentile  as  well  as  to  Jew ;  the  religion  of  Christ  was 
not  to  be  a  mere  Jewish  cult,  but  one  of  the  great 
missionary  religions  of  the  world — the  greatest  of 
them  all. 

This  characteristic  alone  discriminates  Christianity 
from  the  Judaism  whence  it  sprung.  Judaism  was  essen- 
tially narrow,  exclusive,  non-missionary ;  not  in  the  pur- 
pose of  God,  but  as  the  religion  was  actually  held  and 
practised.  It  was  God's  plan,  indeed,  that  in  Abraham 
and  his  seed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  be 
blessed,  but  the  Jews  never  took  kindly  to  that  idea. 
The  fundamental  notion  in  their  minds  was  separation 
from  the  nations ;  God  had  chosen  them  from  all  others 
and  made  them  his  peculiar  people.  Power  and  do- 
minion were  to  be  given  them,  according  to  the  prom- 
ises of  prophets,  a  kingdom  more  glorious  than  Sol- 
omon's ;  and  that  others  should  share  in  these  privi- 
leges was  a  thought  as  bitter  as  wormwood  to  a  Jew. 
Though  the  Jews  made  proselytes  of  individuals  from 
time  to  time,  the  number  of  those  thus  added  to  them 
was  relatively  insignificant,  and  of  any  general  attempt 
to  convert  the  world  to  Judaism  there  is  no  trace  in  the 


THE   NEW  TESTAMENT  CHURCHES — HISTORY  I9 

Jewish  literature  of  any  age.  If  all  the  world  were 
Jews,  where  would  be  the  special  privilege  and  glory  of 
the  Jew?  But  Christianity  is  nothing  if  not  missionary. 
It  exists  because  its  Founder  said  to  his  followers,  "  Go, 
disciple,"  and  it  exists  for  no  other  purpose  than  this. 
From  the  day  of  Pentecost  until  the  day  of  Christ's 
second  coming,  the  history  of  Christianity  has  been — will 
be — a  history  of  missionary  advance. 

But  when  the  world-wide  scope  of  the  gospel  was  ad- 
mitted, there  was  still  much  question  as  to  the  status 
of  Gentiles  when  they  had  been  converted  and  bap- 
tized. The  old  notion  that  the  Christian  was  also  a  Jew 
was  slow  in  giving  way,  and  with  great  diligence  the 
task  was  continued  of  sewing  the  new  patch  of  Chris- 
tianity on  the  old,  worn-out  garment  of  Judaism,  not- 
withstanding Jesus  had  declared  it  to  be  impossible  and 
foolish.  Still  in  bondage  to  the  law  of  Moses,  many 
were  unwilling  that  others  should  enjoy  the  liberty  where- 
with Christ  has  made  men  free.  They  demanded  that 
every  Gentile  convert  should  become  not  only  a  Christian, 
but  a  Jew,  and  insisted  that  he  should  be  circumcised 
and  become  a  debtor  to  the  whole  law.  But  there  were 
men  like  Paul,  who,  though  bred  as  Jews,  when  they 
had  become  converts  to  Christianity,  comprehended  its 
significance.  He,  a  Pharisee  of  the  Pharisees,  glorying 
in  his  servitude  to  the  law  and  his  scrupulous  observance 
of  all  its  requirements,  strove  long  and  violently  against 
the  new  faith  and  its  adherents.  But  when  he  was  en- 
lightened by  the  Spirit  of  God,  there  fell,  as  it  were, 
scales  from  his  eyes ;  thenceforth  he  discerned  clearly 
that  Christianity  differed  profoundly  from  Judaism,  in 
that  it  was  a  religion  of  the  spirit,  not  of  the  flesh.  He 
saw  that  in  Christ  the  whole  law  had  been  fulfilled,  and 
that  the  believer  in  him  is  delivered  from  its  bondage ; 
that  a  religion  of  types  and  external  rites  was  now  an 


20  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

anachronism,  and  must  soon  die  out  among  those  who 
accepted  Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  Therefore,  to  bind  the 
Gentile  converts  with  this  moribund  law,  to  require  spirit- 
ual believers  to  live  after  fleshly  ordinances,  was  not  only 
ridiculous  and  unjust,  but  was  in  fact  to  nullify  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles. 

The  crisis  in  this  "  irrepressible  conflict "  was  reached 
at  Antioch  about  fourteen  years  after  Pentecost.  Paul 
had  preached  for  some  years  in  Asia  Minor,  especially 
at  his  native  city  of  Tarsus,  and  at  the  invitation  of 
Barnabas  he  went  to  Antioch  to  take  part  in  a  prom- 
ising work  there.  For  a  year  they  preached  and  taught, 
and  there  the  disciples  were  first  called  Christians,  At 
the  instance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Barnabas  and  Saul  were 
set  apart  for  a  special  work  of  preaching  in  the  regions 
beyond,  and  the  second  great  step  forward  was  taken 
in  the  history  of  Christianity.  They  made  a  tour  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  the  island  of  Cyprus,  in  which  they  prob- 
ably spent  two  years,  and  on  their  return  to  Antioch 
again  abode  there  a  long  time.  It  was  at  this  juncture 
that  certain  men  from  Judea  endeavored  to  persuade  the 
Antioch  church  that  unless  Gentiles  were  circumcised 
after  the  custom  of  Moses,  they  could  not  be  saved.  No 
little  dissension  followed,  and  it  was  finally  decided  that 
"  Paul  and  Barnabas  and  certain  others  of  them  should 
go  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the  apostles  and  elders  about  this 
question."  The  proceedings  and  decision  of  this  "  coun- 
cil "  at  Jerusalem  are  given  fully  in  the  fifteenth  chapter 
of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  The  meeting  was  the  Get- 
tysburg of  the  Judaizing  party;  the  Gentiles  were  not 
required  to  be  circumcised  and  to  live  as  Jews ;  and 
although  the  struggle  continued  for  some  time,  and 
once  again  at  Antioch  became  violent,  these  were  only 
the  expiring  throes  of  error.  From  this  time  onward 
Christianity  assumed  a  distinct  character,  and  was  no 


THE    NEW   TESTAMENT   CHURCHES — HISTORY  21 

longer  confounded  with  Judaism.  The  settlement  of  this 
question  not  only  determined  for  that  age  the  character 
of  Christ's  religion,  but  prepared  the  churches  for  a 
larger  advance  in  missionary  effort. 

The  details  of  the  evangelization  of  the  Roman  empire 
are  only  imperfectly  known  to  us,  though  the  fact  of 
such  evangelization  is  amply  attested  by  the  New  Testa- 
ment documents,  as  well  as  by  uniform  Christian  tra- 
dition. We  have  a  fairly  complete  account  of  the  labors 
of  Paul,  especially  up  to  his  imprisonment  at  Rome,  clos- 
ing about  the  year  a.  d.  63.  Three  missionary  journeys 
of  his  are  described  with  considerable  fulness  of  detail. 
The  first  has  already  been  mentioned ;  in  its  course  the 
gospel  was  preached  in  Salamis  and  Paphos,  at  Antioch 
of  Pisidia,  Iconium,  Lystra,  and  Derbe,  perhaps  in  other 
places.  Not  less  than  three  years  must  be  allotted  to 
the  second  journey,  during  which  the  apostle  preached 
in  Galatia,  at  Philippi,  Thessalonica,  Berea,  Athens,  and 
Corinth,  staying  in  the  last-named  city  a  year  and  a 
half.  The  third  journey  occupied  about  four  years,  of 
which  over  two  were  spent  at  Ephesus,  and  the  rest  in 
Galatia  and  Phrygia,  Greece  (probably  at  Corinth),  and 
Troas.  The  story  of  these  twelve  years  of  Paul's  life 
is  practically  all  that  we  know  in  any  detail  of  the  apos- 
tolic labors  through  the  Roman  empire.  For  the  rest 
we  must  depend  on  vague  hints  and  uncertain  traditions. 
It  appears  probable,  however,  that  after  a.  d.  63  Paul 
was  acquitted  and  released,  and  labored  four  or  five  years 
more,  visiting  Crete  and  Macedonia,  Troas  and  Miletus, 
and  perhaps  also  Spain,  before  his  final  arrest,  imprison- 
ment, and  martyrdom.  This  conclusion  best  explains 
many  passages  in  the  so-called  pastoral  Epistles  that  are 
otherwise  puzzling,  not  to  say  inexplicable. 

Regarding  the  labors  of  the  other  apostles,  our  in- 
formation  is   even   more   scanty   and   less   trustworthy. 


22  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Had  John  Mark  performed  for  Barnabas  and  Peter  the 
service  that  Luke  rendered  to  Paul ;  had  some  disciple  of 
John  made  a  record  of  his  labors,  our  knowledge  of  the 
apostolic  era  would  have  been  vastly  increased.  We 
know  that  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter  was  written  from 
Babylon  and  addressed  to  the  Christians  of  five  Asiatic 
provinces ;  from  this  it  is  perhaps  a  fair  inference  that 
Peter  had  previously  preached  in  those  provinces.  That 
he  was  ever  in  Rome  does  not  appear  from  the  New 
Testament,  but  tradition  is  well-nigh  unanimous  that  he 
suffered  martyrdom  there.  That  he  was  bishop  of  the 
Roman  church  for  twenty-five  years,  according  to  Roman 
claims,  is  a  later  and  manifestly  absurd  invention.  There 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  tradition  that  John  lived  to  an 
advanced  age  and  died  at  Ephesus.  The  fourth  Gospel 
shows  traces  of  Alexandrine  thought  that  makes  probable 
a  period  of  residence  in  the  greatest  of  the  Eastern  cities 
of  the  empire.  All  that  we  definitely  know  of  him  is 
that  for  a  time  he  was  in  banishment  on  the  Isle  of 
Patmos ;  whether  he  had  any  personal  connection  with 
the  seven  churches  that  he  addresses  in  the  Revelation 
can  only  be  conjectured. 

Some  few  scattered  traditions  embody  the  beliefs  that 
were  prevalent  in  the  third  century  regarding  the  labors 
of  the  other  apostles.  Andrew  is  said  to  have  preached 
in  Scythia,  Bartholomew  in  India,  Thomas  to  have  evan- 
gelized Parthia,  and  Mark  to  have  founded  the  church 
at  Alexandria.  It  is  impossible  to  decide  whether  tales 
like  these  are  lingering  echoes  of  the  truth  or  the  mere  in- 
ventions of  a  later  time.  Even  regarding  them  as  in- 
ventions, however,  they  have  this  significance :  they  testify 
to  a  general  belief  in  the  third  century  that  the  labors  of 
all  the  apostles  were  abounding  and  fruitful.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  the  new  leaven  spread  with  a  rapidity  truly 
wonderful  throughout  the  Roman  empire.     In  the  earli- 


THE    NEW   TESTAMENT   CHURCHES — HISTORY  23 

est  records  of  Christian  literature  in  the  second  century 
we  find  Christians  literally  everywhere.  The  well-known 
letter  of  Pliny  to  the  Emperor  Trajan,  written  about 
A.  D.  Ill,  says  that  this  "superstition"  pervades  not 
only  the  cities  of  his  province  (Pontus  and  Bithynia), 
but  villages  and  even  farms,  so  that  the  temples  were 
almost  deserted,  the  sacred  rites  intermitted,  and  fodder 
was  no  longer  purchased  for  the  animals  to  be  sacrificed, 
at  which  the  farmers  complained  bitterly.  Heathen  and 
Christian  writers  alike  bear  witness  to  the  rapid  spread 
of  Christianity  throughout  the  empire.  To  account  for 
this  phenomenon  something  more  is  necessary  than  what 
we  are  told  in  the  New  Testament  records ;  there  is  a 
large  amount  of  unwritten  history  of  the  apostolic  period, 
that  must  forever  remain  unwritten,  but  whose  general 
outlines  we  can  vaguely  see.  It  has  been  estimated, 
though  this  must  necessarily  be  pure  guesswork,  that 
when  John,  the  last  of  the  apostles,  passed  away,  near 
the  close  .of  the  first  century,  the  number  of  Christians 
in  the  Roman  empire  could  not  have  been  less  than  one 
hundred  thousand.  In  so  brief  a  time  the  grain  of 
mustard  seed  had  become  a  tree. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    NEW    TESTAMENT   CHURCHES — CONSTITUTION 

'"'  I  ^HE  church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and 
X  ground  of  the  truth,"  writes  the  Apostle  Paul  to 
Timothy,  his  beloved  son  in  the  faith.  Though  in  the 
Gospels  we  find  little  about  the  church,  as  has  already 
been  noted,  in  the  other  New  Testament  writings  we 
find  much.  The  word  ccclesia  (assembly,  church)  is  used 
in  these  documents  one  hundred  and  fourteen  times,  and 
in  three  different  senses  as  applied  to  Christians :  once  to 
denote  the  assembly  of  the  saints  in  heaven  (Heb.  12: 
23)  ;  often  to  describe  the  one  assembly  of  the  saints, 
the  church  universal,  composed  of  all  followers  of  Christ ; 
but  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  (eighty-five)  to  denote 
a  local  assembly  or  congregation  of  the  followers  of 
Christ.  The  church  universal  is  not  regarded  in  the 
Epistles  as  a  visible  and  organized  body,  but  is  wholly 
spiritual,  incorporeal,  corresponding  essentially  to  the 
idea  of  the  kingdom  of  God  taught  in  the  Gospels.  The 
only  visible  and  organized  body  of  Christians  recognized 
by  the  New  Testament  writers  was  the  local  assembly  or 
congregation.  In  other  words,  the  apostles  knew  nothing 
of  a  Church ;  they  knew  only  churches. 

These  churches,  though  visible  and  organized,  were 
also  spiritual.  They  were  the  outward  embodiment  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  among  men,  and  the  means  by  which 
that  kingdom  was  to  be  extended.  But  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  before  all  things  spiritual.  "  Except  a  man  be 
born  anew  (anofhen,  from  above)  he  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  said  our  Lord  to  Nicodemus.  And  again 
24 


THE   NEW  TESTAMENT  CHURCHES — CONSTITUTION     25 

he  states  the  truth  yet  more  emphatically,  this  time  with 
a  reference  to  baptism,  the  symbol  of  the  new  birth: 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born 
of  water  and  the  Spirit  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God"  (John  3:  1-21).  This  new  birth,  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  conjoined  to  "  faith,"  "  belief  "  in 
Christ  on  the  part  of  man,  and  as  its  result  man  is  justi- 
fied in  the  sight  of  God  ( i  Peter  i :  5,  9 ;  Rom.  5:1; 
Gal.  2  :  20 ;  Ileb.  10 :  38 ;  1 1 :  6) .  The  necessity  of  a  new 
birth  through  faith  in  Christ  is  everywhere  assumed  in 
the  Epistles  as  a  truth  too  familiar  to  be  formally  stated. 
It  is  the  postulate,  without  which  the  apostoUc  writings 
cannot  possibly  be  understood. 

Hence  the  New  Testament  churches  consisted  only  of 
those  who  were  believed  to  be  regenerated  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  and  had  been  baptized  on  a  personal  confession 
of  faith  in  Christ.  What  was  done  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost seems  to  have  been  the  rule  throughout  the  apostolic 
period :  the  baptism  of  the  convert  immediately  followed 
his  conversion.  It  is  a  distinct  departure  from  New 
Testament  precedent  to  require  converts  to  postpone  their 
baptism.  It  is  true,  that  these  converts  were  Jews,  that 
they  only  needed  to  be  convinced  that  Jesus  was  the 
promised  Messiah,  and  to  submit  to  him  as  Lord,  to  make 
them  fit  subjects  for  baptism;  as  it  is  also  true  that, 
with  the  prospect  of  persecution  and  even  death  before 
them,  there  was  no  temptation  to  make  a  false  profession. 
This  made  possible  and  prudent  a  haste  that  in  our  day 
might  be  dangerous;  but  the  principle  should  be  recog- 
nized and  admitted,  as  taught  by  all  New  Testament 
precedent,  that  no  more  time  should  separate  baptism 
from  conversion  than  is  necessary  to  ensure  credible 
evidence  of  a  genuine  change  of  heart. 

That  all  those  added  to  the  church  at  Jerusalem  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost  were  capable  of  making,  and  did  make, 


26  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

intelligent  personal  confession  of  faith,  is  as  certain  as 
words  can  make  anything.  Nor  is  there  the  slightest  in- 
dication in  the  New  Testament  writings  that,  during  the 
apostolic  age,  any  were  received  into  the  church  save 
those  who  had  come  to  years  of  personal  responsibility 
and  understanding.  No  scholar  pretends  that  the  bap- 
tism of  infants  is  taught  in  the  Scriptures ;  they  are  abso- 
lutely silent  on  the  subject;  yet  from  this  silence  certain 
inferences  have  been  made.  It  is  sometimes  assumed 
that  a  continuity  of  life  unites  the  Old  Dispensation  and 
the  New.  As  children  were  by  birth  heirs  of  the  prom- 
ise through  Abraham,  so  they  are  assumed  to  be  by  birth 
heirs  of  promise  through  Christ.  In  this  view  the  New 
Dispensation  is  organically  one  with  the  Old ;  baptism 
merely  replaces  circumcision,  the  church  replaces  the 
synagogue  and  temple,  the  ministry  replaces  the  priest- 
hood, while  the  spirit  of  all  continues  unchanged.  It 
appears  to  Baptists,  on  the  other  hand,  to  be  clearly 
taught  in  Scripture  that  the  New  Dispensation,  though 
a  fulfilling  and  completion  of  the  Old,  is  radically  differ- 
ent from  it.  Under  the  Old  Dispensation  a  child  was  an 
heir  of  promise  according  to  the  flesh,  but  under  the 
New  Dispensation  natural  birth  does  not  make  him  a 
member  of  the  kingdom  of  God ;  he  must  be  born  from 
above,  born  of  the  Spirit.  The  church  has  for  its  founda- 
tion principle  a  personal  relation  of  each  soul  to  Christ, 
and  not  a  bond  of  blood ;  a  child  might  be  born  a  Jew, 
but  he  must  be  born  again  to  become  a  Christian. 

The  more  this  silence  of  the  Scriptures  regarding  the 
baptism  of  infants  is  considered,  the  more  significant  it 
becomes.  Jesus  took  little  children  in  his  arms  and  de- 
clared that  of  the  childlike  is  the  kingdom  of  God  ( Matt. 
19:  14),  but  he  nowhere  authorized  baptism  save  when 
preceded  by  faith.  The  cases  where  whole  households 
were  baptized  do  not  fairly  warrant  the  inference  that 


THE   NEW   TESTAMENT   CHURCHES — CONSTITUTION     27 

they  contained  infants,  as  is  now  frankly  admitted  by  all 
scholars.  Either  they  afford  no  positive  ground  for  in- 
ference of  any  kind  (as  in  the  case  of  Stephanas,  i  Cor.  i : 
16;  16:  15),  or  they  absolutely  forbid  the  inference  that 
infants  were  among  the  baptized  (as  in  the  case  of  the 
jailer  at  Philippi,  where  all  who  were  baptized  first  had 
the  gospel  preached  to  them,  Acts  i6  :  32,  33).  The  case 
of  Lydia  and  her  household  is  often  cited  as  one  that 
proves  infant  baptism,  but  it  is  impossible  to  infer  from 
the  narrative  (Acts  16  :  14,  15),  anything  certain,  or 
even  probable,  regarding  Lydia's  family.  Whether  she 
was  ever  married,  or  whether  she  ever  had  children,  or 
whether  her  children  were  not  all  dead  or  grown  up 
are  matters  of  pure  conjecture.  It  is  possible  to  guess 
any  of  these  things,  and  a  dozen  besides,  but  guesses 
are  not  fair  inferences,  still  less  proofs. 

Those  who  believe  in  a  mixed  church-membership,  in- 
cluding unregenerate  and  regenerate,  often  cite  the  par- 
able of  the  Tares  (Matt.  13  :  24-30).  The  field,  they  say, 
represents  the  church,  and  as  the  tares  and  wheat  were 
to  be  suffered  to  grow  together  till  the  harvest,  so  the 
regenerate  and  unregenerate  are  to  be  intermingled  in  the 
church.  It  is  a  decisive  objection  to  this  plausible  theory 
that  our  Lord  himself  interpreted  this  parable  to  his  dis- 
ciples (Matt.  13:  36-43),  and  declared  that  the  field  rep- 
resents, not  the  church,  but  the  world ;  the  tares  being 
separated  from  the  wheat  in  the  final  judgment  of 
mankind. 

If  the  church  "  consists  of  all  those  throughout  the 
world  that  profess  the  true  religion,  together  with  their 
children,"  as  the  Westminster  Confession  declares,  does 
it  not  necessarily  follow  that  children  are  equally  entitled 
with  their  parents  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  church?  If 
they  are  fit  subjects  for  baptism,  they  are  fit  subjects  for 
the  Lord's  Supper.     Whoso  denies  this  certainly  assumes 


28  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

the  burden  of  proving  the  reasonableness  of  his  position. 
There  is  nowhere  in  Scripture  any  authority  to  give  the 
former  ordinance,  and  to  withhold  the  latter.  The  Greek 
Church  recognizes  the  fact  that  infant  baptism  logically 
requires  infant  communion,  and  has  the  courage  of  its 
logic ;  but  other  Pedobaptist  bodies  save  part  of  the  truth, 
at  the  expense  of  consistency,  by  denying  participation  in 
the  Lord's  Supper  to  those  baptized  in  infancy  until  these 
have  reached  years  of  understanding,  and  have  made  a 
public  profession  of  faith. 

The  church  at  Jerusalem,  composed  of  believers  bap- 
tized on  profession  of  personal  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
"  continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  teaching  and  fel- 
lowship, in  the  breaking  of  bread  and  the  prayers." 
There  is  no  record  in  the  New  Testament  that  any  joined 
in  the  breaking  of  bread,  which  is  the  usual  term  for  the 
celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  without  first  having 
been  baptized.  What  is  stigmatized,  therefore,  as 
"  close  "  communion  is  simply  strict  adherence  to  scrip- 
tural order — an  order  that  bodies  forth  the  spiritual  sig- 
nificance of  the  two  ordinances  delivered  to  his  church  by 
Christ :  baptism,  as  the  emblem  of  the  new  birth,  fol- 
lowing immediately  upon  that  birth,  and  being  admin- 
istered but  once ;  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  emblem  of  union 
with  Christ,  and  spiritual  partaking  of  his  nature,  coming 
later  and  being  often  repeated.  In  coming  to  the  table  of 
the  Lord,  who  shall  venture  to  add  or  to  take  from  the 
terms  prescribed  by  himself  and  by  apostolic  example? 
Precisely  because  the  table  is  the  Lord's,  and  not  theirs, 
his  obedient  followers  are  constrained  to  yield  to  his  will. 

Such  was  the  first  Christian  church,  as  to  constitution 
and  ordinances ;  and  such,  in  these  particulars,  the 
churches  of  Christ  continued  to  be  to  the  close  of  the 
apostolic  era.  There  were  no  other  ordinances  in  those 
churches,  for  to  constitute  an  ordinance  three  things  are 


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THE   NEW  TESTAMENT  CHURCHES — CONSTITUTION     29 

needful :  it  must  be  a  command  of  Christ  himself ;  ad- 
dressed not  to  individuals,  but  to  Christians  at  large,  and 
obviously  intended  to  be  obeyed  for  all  time ;  and  there 
must  be  evidence  that  the  command  was  so  understood 
and  obeyed  generally  in  the  apostolic  churches.  Only 
baptism  and  the  communion  meet  these  conditions.  The 
laying  on  of  hands  after  baptism,  and  in  ordination,  is 
supported  by  Scripture  precedent,  but  it  is  not  an  ordi- 
nance, for  it  was  not  commanded  by  Christ.  Washing 
the  feet  of  disciples  is  a  command  of  Christ,  but  lacks 
the  element  of  universality,  and  was  evidently  not  prac- 
tised as  a  rite  in  the  apostolic  churches.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  commands  to  baptize  and  to  break  bread  are 
accompanied  by  words  indicating  that  these  things  were 
to  be  observed  perpetually  by  the  followers  of  Christ. 

Of  organization  there  was  at  first  none  in  the  church 
at  Jerusalem.  The  apostles  naturally  took  the  lead  and 
oversight  of  the  flock,  and  for  a  time  the  need  of  oflficers 
was  not  felt.  The  first  step  was  the  appointment  of  dea- 
cons, in  order  to  relieve  the  apostles  from  the  labor  and 
responsibility  of  distributing  alms.  These  ofificers  were 
chosen  by  the  entire  church,  which  is  thus  seen  to  be 
a  democracy  from  the  first,  and  set  apart  to  their  work 
by  prayer  and  laying  on  of  hands — an  apostolic  precedent 
that  Baptists  have  not  always  been  careful  to  follow. 
The  appointment  of  pastors  to  have  oversight  of  the 
churches,  as  their  numbers  increased,  was  the  next  step, 
so  that  the  apostles  might  be  free  to  give  themselves  to 
their  specific  work  of  evangelization. 

We  first  learn  definitely  of  this  office  some  fourteen 
years  later,  when  Barnabas  and  Paul  were  returning  to 
Antioch  from  their  first  missionary  journey,  visiting  the 
churches  they  had  founded :  We  read,  "And  when  they 
[Barnabas  and  Paul]  had  appointed  for  them  elders  in 
every  church,  and  had  prayed  with  fasting,  they  com- 


30  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

mended  them  to  the  Lord,  on  whom  they  had  beHeved." 
The  word  translated  "  appoint "  is  conceded  by  all  schol- 
ars to  signify  "  to  stretch  forth  the  hand,"  probably  for 
the  purpose  of  voting.  This  is  held  to  indicate  that  the 
congregations  chose  each  its  own  pastor,  the  apostles  set- 
ting apart  the  chosen  ones  with  prayer,  and,  as  is  implied 
in  other  passages,  with  the  laying  on  of  hands.  With 
the  election  of  pastors,  the  organization  of  the  church 
became  complete,  and  in  the  New  Testament  there  is  no 
evidence  of  any  further  ecclesiastical  machinery. 

The  chief  officer  of  a  New  Testament  church  is  called 
by  various  titles,  "bishop,"  "  elder,"  "  teacher,"  "  pastor." 
The  latter  two  seem  to  describe  functions  rather  than  an 
office,  and  the  former  two  are  interchangeable  but  not 
synonymous.  "  Bishop  "  (episcopus)  is  a  term  of  Greek 
origin,  and  means  overseer,  president.  It  indicates  the 
duties  of  the  office,  which  were  executive.  "  Elder " 
ipresbutcros)  is  of  Hebrew  origin,  and  refers  to  the 
honor  paid  this  officer,  as  in  the  Jewish  synagogue,  an 
honor  that  was  doubtless  originally  due  to  the  selection  of 
the  older  and  wiser  members  for  the  office.  It  is  admitted 
by  all  scholars  that  in  the  apostolic  times  "  bishop  "  and 
"  elder  "  were  the  same ;  but  some  advocates  of  episco- 
pacy hold  the  later  bishops  to  have  been  the  successors 
of  the  apostles.  Of  this,  however,  there  is  no  evidence, 
either  in  the  writings  of  the  apostles  themselves  or  in  the 
literature  of  the  second  century. 

Not  only  was  the  New  Testament  bishop  chosen  by  his 
flock,  and  the  officer  of  the  single  congregation,  but  he  is 
regarded  as  one  of  them  and  one  with  them.  No  idea  of 
a  division  into  "  clergy  "  and  *'  laity  "  appears  in  the  New 
Testament.  No  priestly  character  or  function  is  as- 
cribed to  either  bishop  or  deacon,  but  the  universal 
priesthood  of  believers  is  unmistakably  taught.  Sacer- 
dotal ideas  are  not  found  in  the  generation  immediately 


THE   NEW   TESTAMENT   CHURCHES — CONSTITUTION     3 1 

succeeding  the  apostles,  but  are  distinctly  of  a  later 
development,  and  are  unmistakable  marks  of  the 
degeneracy  and  corruption  of  the  churches. 

In  the  churches  of  Asia  Minor,  if  not  generally  in  the 
New  Testament  churches,  there  was  a  plurality  of  elders 
in  each  church.  This  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  churches  of  which  we  read  most  were  in  cities,  and 
soon  became  too  large  for  the  oversight  of  one  man.  It 
is  possible  that  in  some  cases,  as  at  Jerusalem,  they  be- 
came too  large  to  assemble  in  any  one  place,  and  met 
in  separate  congregations,  each  with  its  own  elder.  If 
this  conjecture  is  sound,  it  still  remains  unquestionable 
that  the  several  congregations  were  regarded  as  one,  the 
division  being  merely  for  convenience ;  for  while  we  read 
of  "  the  churches  "  of  a  province  like  Galatia,  we  always 
read  of  "  the  church  "  at  Corinth  or  Ephesus  or  Antioch 
or  Jerusalem. 

Simple  in  organization  and  democratic  in  government, 
the  New  Testament  churches  were  independent  of  each 
other  in  their  internal  affairs.  There  is  no  instance  of 
a  single  church,  or  of  any  body  of  churches,  undertaking 
to  control  the  action  of  another,  or  of  a  church  being 
overruled  by  superior  ecclesiastical  authority.  To  the 
teaching  of  apostles  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they 
did,  indeed,  defer  much,  and  rightly;  but  not  so  much 
to  the  apostolic  office  as  to  the  Spirit  of  God  speaking 
through  the  apostle.  The  so-called  council  of  Jerusalem, 
the  nearest  approach  to  the  control  of  local  churches  by 
exterior  authority  (presbytery),  had  an  authority  rather 
moral  than  ecclesiastical,  and  its  decision  was  final  rather 
because  it  was  felt  to  be  the  wisest  solution  of  a  grave 
question  than  because  it  was  imposed  by  ecclesiastical 
powers  and  enforced  by  ecclesiastical  discipline. 

But  though  independent  of  external  authority,  the 
churches  were  not  independent  of  external  obligations. 


32  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

The  church,  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  term,  in  the 
New  Testament,  includes  all  the  regenerate  living  in 
obedience  to  Christ.  Hence,  though  for  convenience  of 
administration  divided  into  local  congregations,  independ- 
ent of  each  other  as  to  internal  management,  it  is  still  the 
one  body  of  Christ.  The  several  churches  owed  to  their 
fellow-Christians,  both  as  individuals  and  as  Christians, 
whatever  of  loving  service  it  was  in  their  power  to  render. 
They  were  bound  to  give  counsel  and  help  to  sister 
churches  that  had  need  of  either,  and  frequent  records 
in  the  New  Testament  show  that  this  obligation  has  been 
acknowledged  and  fulfilled.  The  interdependence  and 
fraternity  of  the  churches  is  a  broader  and  more  precious 
truth  than  their  independence.  If  the  former,  when 
abused,  leads  to  centralization  and  prelacy,  the  latter, 
pushed  to  extremes,  leads  to  disintegration,  discord,  and 
weakness.  The  apostles  urged  upon  churches  as  well  as 
upon  individuals  the  duty  of  bearing  one  another's  bur- 
dens, comforting  each  other  in  trouble,  assisting  each 
other  in  need,  and  generally  co-operating  to  further  the 
interests  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

The  worship  of  the  early  Christians  was  simple  and 
spiritual.  The  public  services  consisted  of  prayer,  praise, 
and  the  preaching  of  the  word,  probably  with  reading  of 
the  Old  Testament  writings,  and  of  the  New  Testament 
writings  as  they  appeared  and  were  circulated  through 
copies.  In  these  respects  the  first  churches,  as  was  nat- 
ural, no  doubt  followed  the  custom  of  the  Jewisii  syna- 
gogues, to  which  their  members  had  been  accustomed 
from  infancy.  Music  filled  an  important  place  in  this  wor- 
ship, as  we  may  infer  from  the  apostle's  reference  to  the 
"  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs  "  as  in  common 
use.  The  chanting  of  psalms,  antiphonal  and  otherwise, 
was  no  doubt  a  marked  feature  of  Christian  worship 
from  the  first,  especially  among  those  educated  as  Jews. 


THE   NEW  TESTAMENT   CHURCHES — CONSTITUTION     33 

Traces  of  ritual  are  found  in  the  New  Testament,  not 
only  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  doxologies,  but  in 
rhythmical  passages  in  the  apostolic  writings.  But  this 
ritual  was  simple,  plastic,  voluntary ;  not  a  rigid  and  re- 
quired service.  Nothing  is  more  marked  in  the  spiritual 
life  of  the  early  church,  so  far  as  it  is  disclosed  in  the 
Acts  and  Epistles,  than  its  spontaneity  and  freedom  from 
the  bondage  of  formalism.  This  is,  of  course,  more 
markedly  manifest  in  the  informal  gatherings,  closely  re- 
sembling the  modern  prayer-meeting,  that  supplemented 
the  more  public  and  general  assemblies  of  the  Lord's  Day. 
These,  however,  like  the  agapce,  or  love  feasts,  that  for  a 
time  accompanied  the  celebration  of  the  Supper,  were 
liable  to  abuse,  and  against  disorderly  proceedings  in  them 
we  find  the  Apostle  Paul  warning  the  Corinthian  church. 
The  distinctive  day  of  worship  among  apostolic  Chris- 
tians was  the  first  day  of  the  week,  the  Lord's  Day.  The 
disciples  met  on  the  evening  of  this  day,  on  which  the 
risen  Christ  had  manifested  himself  to  some  of  them,  and 
he  met  with  them.  A  week  later  they  again  assembled, 
and  again  he  met  them.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  observance  continued  thereafter  without  a  break. 
Thus,  while  there  is  no  definite  precept  for  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  Day,  there  is  definite  precedent,  and 
the  example  of  the  apostles,  where  it  is  clear  and  ex- 
plicit, is  tantamount  to  command.  By  the  year  a.  d.  55 
this  first-day  meeting  of  Christians  seems  to  have  become 
a  recognized  custom  (Acts  20  :  7;  i  Cor.  16  :  2)  ;  yet  it 
is  not  until  the  second  century  that  we  have  positive  proof 
that  the  Lord's  Day  was  universally  observed  among 
Christians.  For  some  time  those  who  had  been  bred 
Jews  continued  to  observe  the  Sabbath  in  their  usual  man- 
ner, and  the  matter  even  became  a  subject  of  contention 
between  Jew  and  Gentile  (Rom.  16  :  5,  6;  Col.  2  :  16)  ; 
but  in  the  second  century  sabbatizing  was  condemned  by 
c 


34  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

Christian  writers.  Neither  in  the  New  Testament  nor 
in  the  Christian  Hterature  of  the  first  three  centuries  is 
there  any  confounding  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's 
Day,  or  any  intimation  that  the  fourth  commandment  has 
anything  to  do  with  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  Day. 
On  the  contrary,  the  Sabbath  is  treated  as  typical  and 
temporary,  Hke  circumcision,  and  done  away  with  as 
were  all  the  ordinances  of  the  law. 

There  were  doubtless  other  times  of  meeting  in  the 
apostolic  churches,  besides  the  first  day  of  the  week.  For 
a  brief  time  after  the  day  of  Pentecost,  every  day  appears 
to  have  been  a  day  of  worship,  as  it  even  now  is  with 
churches  during  a  season  of  special  revival ;  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  was  at  this  time  celebrated  daily.  At  a 
later  period  it  was  celebrated,  apparently,  every  Lord's 
Day,  though  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  this  was  re- 
garded as  obligatory.  Any  Baptist  church,  however,  that 
should  choose  to  spread  the  table  of  the  Lord  every 
Lord's  Day  would  have  sufficient  Scripture  precedent  to 
justify  it  in  so  doing.  The  one  thing  for  which  no  New 
Testament  precedent  can  be  pleaded  is  the  letting  of 
months  go  by  without  a  celebration  of  the  Communion. 


CHAPTER   III 

CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE   C^SARS 

BEFORE  the  end  of  the  apostolic  age  the  followers 
of  Christ  suffered  severe  persecution  at  the  hands 
of  the  Roman  emperors.  The  first  great  persecution, 
that  of  Nero,  probably  had  no  other  origin  than  the 
capricious  cruelty  of  that  infamous  ruler.  The  perse- 
cutions of  his  immediate  successors  were  prompted  by 
passion  rather  than  by  principle;  it  is  not  till  the  reign 
of  Trajan  that  we  find  persecution  for  the  first  time 
adopted  intelligently  and  deliberately  as  a  fixed  imperial 
policy.  This  emperor,  in  his  letter  to  Pliny,  governor  of 
Bithynia  from  109  to  ill,  directed  that  Christians  should 
not  be  sought  out  nor  proceeded  against  on  anonymous 
accusations;  but  when  accused  by  a  responsible  person 
they  should  be  tried,  and  on  conviction  should  be  put  to 
death. 

To  understand  these  persecutions  by  the  better  of  the 
•Roman  emperors — and,  as  a  rule,  the  higher  an  em- 
peror's character  the  more  severely  he  persecuted  the 
Christians — we  must  look  at  the  Roman  laws.  Religion 
was  from  the  earliest  times  a  matter  of  statecraft  in 
Rome.  There  w^as  a  State  religion,  and  public  wor- 
ship of  the  State  deities  was  conducted  by  the  magis- 
trates. The  worship  of  foreign  gods  was  prohibited  on 
pain  of  death  by  the  Twelve  Tables,  the  earliest  code  of 
laws  among  the  Romans,  and  for  a  time  this  prohibition 
seems  to  have  been  absolute ;  but  as  other  nations  were 
conquered  and  absorbed  a  liberal  policy  was  shown 
toward  the  religions  of  the  conquered  peoples.     By  act 

35 


36  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

of  the  Senate  these  national  deities  were  given  recog- 
nition; temples  in  their  honor  could  be  established  in 
Rome,  and  their  devotees  had  equal  rights  with  Ro- 
mans, but  were  forbidden  to  make  proselytes.  Until  a 
religion  was  thus  formally  recognized,  it  was  forbidden 
(religio  illicita),  but  on  such  recognition  it  became  a 
tolerated  religion  {religio  licita).  Christianity  was  at 
first  supposed  to  be  a  form  of  Judaism,  which  as  a  na- 
tional religion  was  tolerated  and  even  protected  by  the 
emperors ;  and  accordingly  it  was  at  first  treated  as 
religio  licita.  Soon,  however,  its  real  nature  came  to  be 
known.  It  was  found  to  be  exclusive  of  all  other  re- 
ligions ;  it  not  only  made  proselytes,  but  by  its  rapid 
progress  it  threatened  the  overthrow  of  the  State  religion. 
It  was,  therefore,  religio  illicita,  and  to  embrace  it  was 
a  capital  offense. 

Moreover,  Christians  were  suspected  of  disloyalty. 
They  avoided  military  service.  Their  conscientious  re- 
fusal to  offer  divine  honors  to  the  emperor — which  was 
done  by  throwing  a  little  incense  on  the  fire  burning  be- 
fore his  statue,  to  the  Roman  an  act  like  the  taking  of 
the  oath  of  allegiance  among  us — was  misconstrued  into 
political  hostility.  There  were  severe  laws  in  the  em- 
pire against  clubs,  secret  societies  and  the  like;  no  as- 
sociation was  lawful  unless  specially  licensed,  and  the 
emperors  were  so  jealous  of  these  clubs,  as  affording 
opportunities  for  conspiracy,  that  Trajan  actually  refused 
to  sanction  a  company  of  firemen  in  Nicomedia.  The 
Christian  church  was  constructively  an  illegal  secret  so- 
ciety, since  it  was  an  organization  not  sanctioned  by  the 
emperor,  that  held  frequent  private  meetings ;  and  in 
order  to  protect  themselves,  the  Christians  held  these 
meetings  with  great  secrecy. 

It  was  not  mere  wanton  cruelty,  therefore,  that  led 
the   emperors   to  persecute  the   Christians,   but   a   fixed 


Page  36 


1  HE     LmIHKI'K      I   KAJAN 


CHRISTIANITY   AND  THE  C^SARS  37 

State  policy.  But  nevertheless,  popular  hatred  at  times 
waxed  hot  against  the  Christians,  and  emperors  occa- 
sionally persecuted  to  gratify  this  hatred,  based  on  ignor- 
ance and  slander.  Public  opinion  is  not  without  influ- 
ence, even  in  a  despotic  government.  A  saying  that 
passed  into  a  proverb  was :  Deus  non  pliiit — due  ad  Chris- 
tianos  (the  heavens  do  not  rain — lead  us  against  the 
Christians).  Tertullian  probably  exaggerates  little  when 
he  says :  "  If  the  Tiber  overflow  its  banks,  if  the  Nile 
do  not  water  the  fields,  if  the  clouds  refuse  rain,  if  the 
earth  shake,  if  famine  or  storms  prevail,  the  cry  always 
is,  '  Throw  the  Christians  to  the  lions  ! '  " 

Ten  persecutions  are  mentioned  by  the  Christians  of 
this  period  and  by  many  historians,  of  which  three  are 
specially  remarkable  for  bitterness  and  general  prevalence 
through  the  empire.  In  the  second  century  persecution 
was  spasmodic  and  unmethodical,  nevertheless  the  reign 
of  Marcus  Aurelius  is  remembered  as  one  of  great  suf- 
fering by  the  Christians.  It  is  not  certain  that  he  or- 
dered persecutions  or  sympathized  with  them,  but  thou- 
sands became  martyrs.  The  first  general  and  systematic 
persecution  throughout  the  empire  was  that  begun  by 
Decius  Trajan  (249-251).  The  authorities  were  espe- 
cially severe  with  the  bishops,  and  Fabian  of  Rome, 
Alexander  of  Jerusalem,  and  Cyprian  of  Carthage,  are 
some  of  those  who  perished  in  this  persecution.  Dio- 
cletian began  the  last  great  persecution,  which  raged  dur- 
ing the  years  303-311.  His  edicts  required  that  all 
Christian  churches  should  be  destroyed ;  all  copies  of  the 
Bible  were  to  be  burned ;  Christians  were  to  be  deprived 
of  public  office  and  civil  rights,  and  must  sacrifice  to 
the  gods  on  pain  of  death. 

The  Christian  literature  of  the  first  three  centuries 
records  the  heroic  death  of  many  devout  believers,  but 
no  story  is  more  touching  than  the  martyrdom  of  Per- 


38  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

petua  and  her  companion  Felicitas,  as  told  by  TertuUian. 
Vivia  Perpetua  was  a  matron  of  Carthage,  about  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  and  had  an  infant  son.  She  was  well- 
born and  well-educated.  Of  her  husband  the  narrative 
tells  us  nothing,  but  we  may  infer  that  he  was,  like  her 
father,  a  heathen.  After  being  apprehended,  her  father 
and  brother  used  all  their  arts  of  persuasion  to  induce 
her  to  recant,  but  in  vain.  When  brought  before  the 
procurator,  he  besought  her  thus :  "  Spare  the  gray  hairs 
of  your  father,  spare  the  infancy  of  your  boy,  offer  sac- 
rifice for  the  well-being  of  the  emperor."  She  replied : 
"  I  will  not  do  so."  The  procurator  said :  "Are  you  a 
Christian?"  She  replied:  "I  am  a  Christian."  The 
procurator  then  delivered  judgment  on  the  accused,  Per- 
petua among  them,  and  condemned  them  to  the  wild 
beasts.  The  story  of  the  martyrdom,  somewhat  abridged, 
follows  in  Tertullian's  words : 

"  The  day  of  tneir  victory  shone  forth,  and  they  pro- 
ceeded from  the  prison  into  the  amphitheater,  as  if  to 
an  assembly,  joyous  and  of  brilliant  countenances.  For 
the  young  women  the  devil  prepared  a  very  fierce  cow. 
Perpetua  is  first  led  in.  She  was  tossed  and  fell  on  her 
loins ;  and  when  she  saw  her  tunic  torn  she  drew  it  over 
her  as  a  veil,  rather  mindful  of  her  modesty  than  her 
suffering.  So  she  rose  up ;  and  when  she  saw  Felicitas 
crushed,  she  approached  and  gave  her  her  hand,  and 
lifted  her  up;  and  the  brutality  of  the  populace  being 
appeased,  they  were  recalled  to  the  gate.  And  when 
the  populace  called  for  them  into  the  midst,  they  first 
kissed  one  another,  that  they  might  consummate  their 
martyrdom  with  a  kiss  of  peace.  The  rest  indeed  im- 
movable and  in  silence  received  the  sword-thrust;  but 
Perpetua,  being  pierced  between  the  ribs,  cried  out  loudly, 
and  she  herself  placed  the  wavering  right  hand  of  the 
youthful  gladiator  to  her  throat.     Possibly  such  a  woman 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  THE  C/ESARS  39 

could  not  have  been  slain  unless  she  herself  had  willed 
it,  because  she  was  feared  by  the  impure  spirit.  O  most 
brave  and  blessed  martyrs !  O  truly  called  and  chosen 
unto  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  " 

Early  in  the  fourth  century  it  became  apparent  that 
Christianity  was  stronger  than  the  Csesars,  and  could 
not  be  destroyed.  The  long  contest  ended  with  the  sur- 
render of  the  emperors.  In  311,  an  edict  of  toleration 
was  published,  confirmed  in  313,  and  with  the  triumph 
of  Constantine  in  323  as  sole  emperor,  Christianity  be- 
came practically  the  established  religion  of  the  empire. 
In  spite  of  the  persecutions  to  which  they  had  been 
subjected,  the  Christians  had  come  to  number,  accord- 
ing to  the  most  trustworthy  estimates,  about  ten  millions 
in  the  Roman  empire ;  or  one-tenth  of  the  entire  popu- 
lation. It  was  no  empty  boast  of  a  rhetorician  when 
Tertullian  wrote,  a  century  before  toleration  was  won : 
"  We  are  a  people  of  yesterday,  and  yet  we  have  filled 
every  place  belonging  to  you — cities,  islands,  castles, 
towns,  assemblies,  your  very  camp,  your  tribes,  com- 
panies, palace,  senate,  forum !  We  leave  you  your 
temples  only.  We  count  your  armies ;  our  numbers  in  a 
single  province  will  be  greater." 

While  the  Christian  faith  was  thus  engaged  in  a  life- 
and-death  contest  with  the  imperial  power,  it  was  com- 
pelled to  defend  itself  against  the  hardly  less  dangerous 
attacks  of  heathen  adversaries.  The  emperors  threat- 
ened with  destruction  the  external  organization ;  heathen 
philosophers  threatened  to  undermine  the  very  founda- 
tions of  the  faith.  Pagan  men  of  letters  undertook  to 
bring  to  pass  what  imperial  power  had  failed  to  do.  The 
terrors  of  the  prison  and  the  sword  had  proved  of  little 
avail  to  hinder  the  progress  of  Christianity ;  the  question 
was  now  to  be  tested  whether  the  pen  could  cut  deeper 
than  the  sword,  whether  logic  and  rhetoric  could  over- 


40  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

come  an  obstinacy  proof  against  death  itself.  The  at- 
tacks made  upon  the  rehgion  of  Christ  in  the  first  three 
centuries  have  never  been  surpassed  in  abiHty  and  force. 
No  keener-witted,  no  more  learned,  no  more  bitterly  hos- 
tile critics  have  searched  the  Scriptures  with  intent  to 
overthrow  them  than  were  found  in  these  days.  We 
are  authorized  in  saying  this,  though  their  works  are 
known  to  us  only  through  the  references  made  to  them 
by  their  Christian  antagonists.  Not  only  is  this  the  gen- 
eral repute  of  these  critics,  but  the  profuse  quotations 
from  their  words  in  the  answers  to  them  show  the  scope 
and  cogency  of  their  arguments.  Nearly  all  the  latter- 
day  skeptical  objections  to  Christianity  are  to  be  found 
in  these  early  anti-Christian  writings.  The  new  light  that 
modern  opponents  of  evangelical  religion  profess  to  have 
discovered  is  only  the  old  darkness. 

There  were  then,  as  now,  two  stock  objections  to  the 
religion  of  Christ — first,  the  incredibility  of  the  Scrip- 
tures as  history ;  second,  the  absurdity  of  the  doctrines 
taught  in  the  Scriptures.  Then,  as  now,  skeptics  objected 
to  the  miraculous  element  in  the  Bible,  and  sought  to 
overthrow  men's  belief  in  the  book  as  inspired  by  point- 
ing out  its  alleged  contradictions.  Then,  as  now,  men 
could  not  reconcile  their  human  systems  of  philosophy 
with  the  biblical  teaching  regarding  the  inherent  sinful- 
ness of  man,  the  vicarious  atonement,  regeneration, 
union  with  Christ,  sanctification,  and  a  resurrection  unto 
eternal  life.  But  it  was  paganism,  not  Christianity,  that 
proved  incredible  when  subjected  to  searching  examina- 
tion. The  worship  of  the  gods  declined,  while  the  wor- 
ship of  God  and  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  spread  rapidly 
through  the  Roman  world.  The  attacks  of  the  pagan 
scholars  and  philosophers  hardly  retarded  the  process 
perceptibly,  though  for  a  time  they  seemed  to  constitute 
a  serious  danger. 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    C^SARS  4I 

These  attacks  were  answered  by  Christian  writers,  so 
completely,  so  conclusively,  that  later  defenders  of  the 
faith  have  had  little  to  do  but  repeat,  amplify,  and  re- 
state their  arguments.  Among  the  ablest  were  Justin, 
Tertullian,  and  Origen.  Justin,  the  earliest,  was  a  Pla- 
tonist,  and  in  his  writings  stood  mainly  on  the  defensive. 
His  two  apologies,  addressed  to  the  Roman  emperors, 
were  largely  devoted  to  showing  that  Christians  were 
falsely  accused  by  their  enemies,  that  they  were  not  to 
be  blamed  for  public  calamities,  and  that  in  all  things 
they  were  good  Romans  and  loyal  subjects  of  the  em- 
peror. In  addition  he  maintained  that  the  Scriptures  are 
the  only  source  of  truth,  the  pagan  mythologies  abound- 
ing in  falsehoods  and  contradictions.  In  his  dialogue 
with  Trypho,  Justin  attempts  to  answer  the  usual  ob- 
jections of  the  Jews  to  the  Christian  faith,  and  to  prove 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  from  the  Old  Testament.  This 
is  almost  the  only  trace,  outside  of  the  New  Testament, 
of  controversy  between  Jews  and  Christians.  Tertul- 
lian defended  the  supernatural  element  in  Christianity 
with  great  skill.  He  is  the  most  finished  rhetorician 
among  the  early  Christian  apologists,  and  seldom  stood 
on  the  defensive,  but  boldly  carried  the  war  into  Africa. 
He  was  a  man  of  genius,  but  there  was  a  strain  of 
enthusiasm  or  fanaticism  in  him  that  made  him  an  un- 
safe guide;  nevertheless,  his  services  as  a  defender  of 
the  faith  were  great. 

The  culmination  of  this  series  of  apologies  was  the 
treatise  of  Origen  against  Celsus.  He  was  born  of  Chris- 
tian parents  at  Alexandria,  in  185.  The  statement  will 
be  found  in  many  books  of  reference  that  he  was  bap- 
tized in  infancy,  but  as  there  is  no  record  of  his  bap- 
tism the  statement  can  be  nothing  more  than  an  infer- 
ence from  the  fact  that  he  advocated  infant  baptism 
in  later  years.     It  is  more  probable  that  he  was  not  bap- 


42  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

tized  in  infancy,  since  the  custom  was  far  from  general 
when  he  was  born.  He  received  a  careful  education 
and  as  a  boy  knew  whole  sections  of  the  Bible  perfectly. 
During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  was  a  teacher 
at  Alexandria — though  he  was  at  one  time  deposed  from 
the  office  of  presbyter,  excommunicated  and  exiled — 
and  was  in  high  repute  as  a  scholar  and  writer. 

Origen  labored  to  reconcile  Greek  philosophy  with 
biblical  theology,  not  with  entire  success,  since  his  teach- 
ings afforded  some  ground  for  the  charges  of  heresy 
brought  against  him.  His  doctrine  concerning  Christ 
was  the  precursor  of  the  later  Arianism,  and  his  denial 
of  eternal  punishment  has  had  a  great  influence  on  the 
church  in  every  succeeding  century.  His  great  work 
against  Celsus,  valuable  as  it  was  in  its  time,  had  not 
the  same  worth  for  the  church  of  all  time  as  his  exe- 
getical  studies.  He  was  the  first  commentator  on  the 
Scriptures  who  seriously  set  himself,  by  grammatical 
and  historical  study  of  the  text,  to  ascertain  what  the 
word  of  God  really  means.  This  was,  in  truth,  his  great- 
est contribution  to  apologetics,  though  in  form  it  was 
not  a  defense  of  Christianity.  Has  it  not  been  true  in 
all  the  ages  since,  that  the  religion  of  Christ  has  been 
most  successfully  defended  by  those  who  have  best  set 
forth  its  teachings  to  the  world,  not  by  those  who  have 
ostensibly,  not  to  say  ostentatiously,  gone  about  the 
task  of  formal  defense?  The  most  effective  refutation 
of  error  is  to  teach  the  truth. 

The  victory  of  Christianity  was  no  less  complete  in 
controversy  than  in  the  civil  conflict.  About  the  time 
the  emperors  were  convinced  that  persecution  was  futile, 
the  philosophers  saw  the  uselessness  of  criticism.  The 
triumph  of  Christianity  was  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 
It  won  because  truth  must  win  when  pitted  against 
error,  since  it  has  behind  it  all  the  power  of  God.     In 


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The  Emperor  Marcus  Aurei-ius 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    CESARS  43 

these  ages,  as  in  many  others,  we  can  now  see  that  the 
opposition  of  pagan  writers  was  a  blessing  to  the  church. 
It  compelled  Christians  to  examine  well  the  foundations 
of  their  faith,  to  study  the  Bible  and  systematize  its  teach- 
ings, to  recognize  the  discrepancies  and  apparent  con- 
tradictions of  the  Scriptures  and  inquire  how  and  how 
far  these  might  be  harmonized.  The  result  was  that 
Christianity  emerged  from  its  conflict  with  paganism  re- 
joicing in  a  faith  greatly  strengthened,  and  above  all 
more  intelligent.  The  faith  of  the  church  in  its  Scrip- 
tures as  a  divine  revelation  could  never  be  seriously 
shaken  after  the  searching  tests  they  had  so  triumphantly 
encountered. 

But  the  victory  was  in  part  a  defeat  also ;  as  often 
happens,  the  conquered  overcame  the  conquerors.  Chris- 
tianity apparently  vanquished  heathenism,  but  heathen- 
ism succeeded  in  injecting  much  of  its  superstition  and 
ritual  into  Christianity,  In  the  long  struggle  with  the 
Caesars,  Christianity  had  apparently  won ;  but  while  ap- 
pearing to  gain  all,  by  obtaining  the  patronage  of  Con- 
stantine,  it  was  in  danger  of  losing  all.  The  process  of 
degeneracy  and  corruption — in  polity,  in  doctrine,  in 
spiritual  life — had  begun  long  before,  but  adversity  had 
kept  the  church  comparatively  pure.  Now  it  became 
rapidly  assimilated  to  the  world,  and  the  increase  of 
the  church  in  wealth,  in  numbers,  and  in  worldly  power 
was  accompanied  by  an  equally  marked  decadence  of 
spiritual  life,  and  a  departure  from  the  simplicity  of  the 
apostolic  doctrine  and  practice. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   HOLY   CATHOLIC   CHURCH 

BEFORE  the  last  of  the  apostles  had  passed  away, 
there  were  unmistakable  signs  of  degeneracy  and 
corruption  in  the  Christian  churches.  Warnings  against 
heresies  and  false  teachers,  not  as  future  dangers  but  as 
present,  are  found  in  all  of  the  later  New  Testament  writ- 
ings. From  the  very  first,  the  preaching  of  the  cross  was 
to  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block  and  to  the  Greeks  foolish- 
ness; and  even  when  Jews  and  Greeks  were  converted 
they  endeavored  to  amalgamate  the  old  religion  with  the 
new.  In  spite  of  our  Lord's  assurance  that  the  new  wine 
could  not  be  put  into  the  old  bottles  without  the  loss 
of  both,  this  attempt  went  on.  Profoundly  as  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Jews  differed  from  that  of  the  Greeks  and 
of  other  heathen  nations,  yet  all  pre-Christian  religions 
had  one  element  in  common — they  promised  salvation  to 
those  who  would  attain  the  scrupulous  observance  of  ec- 
clesiastical rites.  The  note  of  all  religions  before  Chris- 
tianity was  salvation  by  works ;  Christianity  alone  taught 
salvation  by  faith. 

The  efforts  of  converts  imperfectly  converted  to  assim- 
ilate Christianity  to  their  former  faith  were  only  too  suc- 
cessful. They  failed  to  grasp  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  new  religion,  that  each  soul's  destiny  is  the  result 
of  a  personal  relation  to  Jesus  Christ,  that  eternal  life  is 
not  the  mere  escape  from  retribution  hereafter,  but  that 
it  begins  here  in  an  intimate  and  vital  union  with  the 
Son  of  God.  They  imagined  that  eternal  destiny  is  set- 
tled by  outward  act,  that  the  wrath  of  God  may  be 
44 


THE   HOLY  CATHOLIC   CHURCH  45 

averted  by  rites  and  ceremonies.  The  natural  result  was 
the  substitution  of  formalism  for  spirituality,  devotion  to 
the  externals  of  religion  taking  the  place  of  living  faith. 
To  this  one  root  may  be  traced  in  turn  every  one  of 
the  corruptions  of  the  church,  all  of  its  aberrations  of 
doctrine  and  practice.  So  soon  as  the  churches  founded 
by  the  apostles  lost  sight  of  the  truth  that  man  must  be 
born  again,  and  that  this  new  birth  is  always  associated 
with  personal  faith  in  Christ,  the  way  was  prepared  for 
all  that  followed. 

In  the  earliest  Christian  literature,  after  the  apostolic 
period,  we  may  trace  three  tendencies  toward  degenera- 
tion, all  proceeding  from  this  common  cause,  developing 
along  lines  parallel  at  first,  yet  distinct,  afterward  con- 
verging, and  at  length  constituting  a  logical,  consistent 
whole.  These  are:  the  idea  of  a  Holy  Catholic  Church, 
the  ministry  a  priesthood,  and  sacramental  grace. 

Jesus  prayed  that  his  disciples  might  be  one,  and  his 
apostles  taught  that  the  church  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  therefore  both  one  and  holy.  Early  in  the 
second  century,  however,  these  ideas  assumed  a  different 
form  from  that  of  the  New  Testament.  The  churches 
were  conceived  of  as  forming  together  one  Church,  not 
spiritual  merely,  but  visible,  extending  throughout  the 
world,  and  therefore  catholic  (i.  e.,  universal).  Perse- 
cution doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  emphasizing  in  the 
minds  of  Christians  their  unity,  but  an  exaggerated  no- 
tion of  the  value  of  formal  oneness  came  to  prevail,  until 
schism  was  reckoned  the  deadliest  of  sins  a  Christian 
could  commit.  The  preservation  of  outward  unity  thus 
becoming  the  paramount  consideration,  it  followed  that 
whatever  error  a  majority  in  the  church  might  come  to 
hold,  the  minority  must  accept  it,  rather  than  be  guilty 
of  this  deadly  sin  of  schism.  This  ideal  of  a  Holy 
Catholic  Church,  outside  of  which  was  no  salvation,  unity 


46  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

with  which  was  necessary  to  unity  with  Christ,  prepared 
the  way  for  all  the  corruptions  that  were  introduced. 

Another  parallel  development  downward  in  the  second 
century  was  the  attribution  of  some  mystical  or  magical 
power  to  baptism.  It  must  be  confessed  that  there  are 
a  few  passages  in  the  New  Testament  writings  which, 
if  they  stood  alone,  would  favor  this  view.  "  Except  a 
man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God"  (John  3:3).  "Which  also 
after  a  true  likeness  doth  now  save  you,  even  baptism  " 
(i  Peter  3  :  14).  "Arise  and  be  baptized,  and  wash 
away  thy  sins  "  (Acts  22  :  16)  :  If  passages  like  these 
stood  alone,  unmodified,  we  should  be  compelled  to  the 
conclusion  that  faith  alone,  without  baptism,  does  not 
avail  to  save.  By  ignoring  to  a  great  degree  those  other 
and  relatively  numerous  passages  in  which  the  spirit  is 
exalted  above  the  letter,  and  faith  is  made  the  vital  prin- 
ciple of  the  Christian  life  instead  of  ritual,  the  churches 
soon  made  outward  rites  of  more  significance  than  in- 
ward state.  Baptism  was  regarded,  not  perhaps  as  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  salvation,  but  as  so  necessary  an 
act  that  if  it  could  not  be  performed  precisely  in  accord- 
ance with  Christ's  command  and  apostolic  precedent, 
some  simulacrum  of  it  must  be  substituted. 

The  Christians  of  that  age  were  indeed  justified  in 
laying  great  stress  on  the  importance  of  obeying  Christ 
in  baptism.  It  never  seems  to  have  occurred  to  them,  as 
it  has  occurred  to  Christians  of  recent  times,  to  evade 
this  command,  because  to  obey  was  inconvenient  or  dis- 
tasteful ;  or  on  the  avowed  ground  that  something  else 
might  be  substituted  for  the  act  commanded  that  would 
be  more  accordant  with  the  delicate  sensibilities  of  culti- 
vated and  refined  people.  Their  obedience  was  implicit, 
ready,  complete.  Its  one  fault  was  an  excess  of  virtue — 
an  attempt  to  obey  in  cases  where  obedience  was  im- 


THE   HOLY   CATHOLIC   CHURCH  47 

possible.  When  water  in  sufficient  quantities  for  immer- 
sion was  wanting,  there  could  be  no  proper  baptism ;  but, 
as  baptism  was  now  conceived  to  be  so  very  important, 
something  must  be  done,  and  water  was  in  such  cases 
poured  upon  the  head  thrice,  in  quantities  as  profuse  as 
possible,  no  doubt,  thus  counterfeiting  immersion  as 
nearly  as  might  be.  The  true  principle  was  missed — 
that  where  obedience  is  impossible  God  accepts  the  will- 
ingness to  obey  for  obedience  itself ;  and  the  wrong 
principle  was  adopted — that  God  can  be  obeyed  by  doing 
something  other  than  what  he  commands. 

We  see  the  first  step  in  this  process  in  the  document 
known  as  "  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles," 
which  scholars  assign  to  the  first  half  of  the  second 
century.  The  injunction  regarding  baptism  is :  "  Now 
concerning  baptism,  thus  baptize  ye :  having  first  uttered 
all  these  things,  baptize  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  running  water. 
But  if  thou  hast  not  running  water,  baptize  in  other 
water ;  and  if  thou  canst  not  in  cold,  then  in  warm. 
But  if  thou  hast  neither,  pour  water  upon  the  head 
thrice,  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit.  But  before  the  baptism  let  the  baptizer  and  the 
baptized  fast,  and  whatsoever  others  can ;  but  the  bap- 
tized thou  shalt  command  to  fast  for  two  or  three  days 
before."  There  is  only  a  bare  hint  here  of  a  sacramental 
idea,  but  by  the  time  of  Justin  Martyr  (about  a.  d.  150) 
the  process  of  identifying  the  sign  with  the  thing  signi- 
fied had  made  no  little  progress.  He  calls  baptism  "  the 
water-bath  of  regeneration."  "  Those  who  believe  our 
doctrine,"  he  says,  "  are  led  by  us  to  a  place  where 
there  is  water,  and  in  this  way  they  are  regenerated." 
By  the  time  of  Tertullian  (200)  the  idea  of  baptismal 
regeneration  is  firmly  established.  That  is  to  say,  bap- 
tism is  no  longer  regarded  as  merely  a  type  or  symbol 


48  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

of  regeneration,  but  the  means  by  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  effected  regeneration.  In  the  writings  of  the  Ante- 
Nicene  church  Fathers,  the  use  of  "  regenerate "  to 
mean  "  baptize  "  is  so  common  as  to  be  almost  the  rule. 
For  a  time,  doubtless,  the  usage  was  figurative,  but  the 
figure  was  soon  lost  sight  of,  and  baptism  was  accepted 
as  a  literal  means  of  regeneration. 

One  of  the  first  practical  consequences  of  this  doctrine 
regarding  baptism  was  the  usage  known  as  "  clinic " 
baptism  (from  kltnc,  a  couch),  or  the  baptism  of  those 
supposably  sick  unto  death.  The  first  recorded  case  of 
this  kind,  though  others  may  have  occurred  before,  is 
that  of  Novatian  (sometime  before  250).  Being  very 
ill,  and  supposed  to  be  near  death,  yet  desiring  to  be 
baptized  and  wash  away  his  sins,  water  was  brought  and 
poured  about  him  as  he  lay  on  his  couch,  immersion 
being  thus  simulated  as  closely  as  possible  under  the 
circumstances.  Novatian  recovered,  however,  or  we 
should  probably  never  have  heard  of  this  case,  and  after- 
ward entered  the  ministry,  but  the  sufficiency  of  his  clinic 
baptism  was  from  the  first  disputed.  The  question  of 
the  validity  of  such  baptisms  was  submitted  to  Cyprian, 
bishop  of  Africa,  and  in  one  of  the  letters  of  that  eccle- 
siastic we  have  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the  matter. 
He  was  asked,  he  tells  us,  "  of  those  who  obtain  God's 
grace  in  sickness  and  weakness,  whether  they  are  to  be 
accounted  legitimate  Christians,  for  that  they  are  not 
to  be  washed,  but  affused  (non  lofi  sunt,  scd  pcrfusi) 
with  the  saving  waters."  His  chief  argument  was  one 
since  common  among  mutilators  of  the  ordinance,  that 
a  little  water  would  answer  as  well  as  much.  His  con- 
clusion was  that  "the  sprinkling  of  water  (aspersio), 
prevails  equally  with  the  washing  of  salvation ;  and  that 
when  this  is  done  in  the  church,  when  the  faith  both  of 
receiver  and  giver  is  sound,  all  things  hold  and  may  be 


THE   HOLY   CATHOLIC   CHURCH  49 

consummated  and  perfected  by  the  majesty  of  the  Lord, 
and  by  the  truth  of  faith." 

It  will  be  noted  by  the  attentive  reader  of  these  words 
that  the  decision  rests  wholly  on  the  sacramental  no- 
tion that  baptism  conveys  God's  saving  grace.  It  was 
a  natural  conclusion  by  those  who  held  this  view  that 
God's  grace  could  work  with  a  little  water  as  well  as 
with  more.  But  it  was  long  before  Cyprian's  view  fully 
prevailed  in  the  church.  It  was  agreed,  to  be  sure,  that 
clinic  baptism  would  suffice  for  salvation,  but  it  was  felt 
to  be  an  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory  form,  and  ordi- 
nation was  long  refused  those  who  had  been  subjects  of 
this  mutilated  ceremony.  The  idea  that  affusion  would 
serve  as  baptism  in  other  than  cases  of  extreme  necessity 
made  its  way  very  slowly  in  the  church,  and  that  form 
of  administration  had  no  official  sanction  until  the  Synod 
of  Ravenna,  in  131 1,  decided  that  "baptism  is  to  be 
administered  by  trine  aspersion  or  immersion." 

The  first  clinic  baptisms,  as  we  have  seen,  were  per- 
formed by  so  surrounding  the  body  of  the  sick  person 
with  water  that  he  might  be  said  to  be  immersed  in 
water.  It  was,  however,  a  short  and  easy  step  to  dimin- 
ish the  quantity  of  water,  and  then  to  apply  it  to  other 
than  sick  persons.  The  practice  of  perfusion  and  affu- 
sion gradually  increased  from  the  time  of  Novatian, 
though  for  several  centuries  immersion  continued  to  be 
the  prevailing  administration  of  the  ordinance. 

Another  consequence  of  the  idea  of  baptismal  regen- 
eration was  the  baptism  of  infants.  It  logically  followed, 
if  those  unbaptized  were  unregenerate,  that  all  who  died 
in  infancy  were  unsaved.  This  was  a  conclusion  from 
which  the  Christian  consciousness  of  the  early  cen- 
turies revolted  as  strongly  as  that  of  our  own  day,  which 
utterly  rejects  the  Westminster  declaration  that  "  elect 
infants  "  are  saved,  with  its  logical  corollary  that  non- 

D 


50  A   SHORT    HiSTORV   OP   THE   BAPTISTS 

elect  infants  are  lost.  The  true  solution  of  the  difficulty 
would  have  been  found  in  a  return  to  apostolic  ideas  of 
the  nature  and  function  of  baptism ;  but  a  contrary  idea 
having  become  too  deeply  settled  in  the  church  for  such 
a  return,  the  only  alternative  solution  was  to  baptize 
infants,  so  that  they  might  be  regenerated  and  saved  if 
they  died  before  reaching  the  years  in  which  personal 
faith  is  possible. 

Just  when  infant  baptism  began  is  uncertain ;  scholars 
have  disputed  long  over  the  question  without  arriving  at 
any  decisive  proof.  The  passages  often  quoted  from  the 
writings  of  Justin  and  Irenseus  are  admitted  by  candid 
Pedobaptist  scholars  to  fall  far  short  of  proof  that  infants 
were  baptized  in  their  times.  It  is  tolerably  certain,  how- 
ever, that  by  the  time  of  Tertullian  the  practice  was  com- 
mon, though  by  no  means  universal.  We  know,  for  ex- 
ample, that  Augustine,  though  the  son  of  the  godly 
Monica,  was  not  baptized  in  infancy,  but  on  personal  pro- 
fession of  faith  at  the  age  of  thirty-three.  Gregory  of 
Nazianzum  and  Chrysostom  are  two  others.  Similar 
cases  were  frequent  without  a  doubt,  though  from  this 
time  on  they  became  more  rare,  until  after  the  sixth  cen- 
tury the  practice  of  infant  baptism  was  universal,  or 
nearly  so.  Nothing  in  the  history  of  the  church  did  so 
much  as  this  departure  from  apostolic  precedent  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  papacy.  It  introduced  into  the  church 
a  multitude  whose  hearts  were  unchanged  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  who  were  worldly  in  aims  and  in  life,  and  who 
sought  for  the  worldly  advancement  of  the  church  that 
thus  their  own  power  and  importance  might  be  magnified. 
This  consummation  was  doubtless  aided  and  hastened  by 
the  rapid  contemporary  growth  of  the  church  in  numbers 
and  its  increase  in  worldly  prosperity. 

In  the  section  concerning  baptism,  already  quoted  from 
"  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  the  catechu- 


THE    HOLY   CATHOLIC   CHURCH  5I 

menate  is  already  recognized,  at  least  in  germ.  Baptism 
was  no  longer  to  be  administered  upon  the  mere  confes- 
sion of  faith,  but  was  to  be  preceded  by  a  somewhat 
elaborate  instruction,  for  which  the  first  six  chapters  of 
the  "  Teaching  "  were  originally  devised.  The  catechu- 
menate  was  not  in  itself  a  departure  from  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  primitive  churches.  There  was  a 
necessity,  such  as  is  felt  by  the  missionaries  in  heathen 
lands  at  this  day,  of  instructing  converts  in  the  first 
principles  of  the  Christian  faith.  It  is  true  now  in 
heathendom  as  it  was  then,  that  a  sufficient  knowledge 
of  the  Christian  faith  for  salvation  may  be  gained  in 
a  comparatively  brief  time,  while  the  convert  is  in  a 
dense  state  of  ignorance  regarding  all  else  that  separates 
Christianity  from  his  heathen  faith.  Accordingly,  our 
own  missionaries  are  compelled  in  some  cases,  perhaps 
in  all,  to  exercise  caution  in  the  reception  of  those  heathen 
who  profess  conversion,  and  to  give  them  such  prelim- 
inary instruction  in  Christian  doctrine  as  will  enable  them 
intelligently  to  become  disciples  of  Christ  and  members 
of  a  Christian  church.  But  it  is  evident  that  instruction 
of  this  kind,  prior  to  baptism,  should  be  extremely  simple 
and  elementary,  and  need  not  be  greatly  protracted.  So 
soon  as  the  catechumenate  was  an  established  institu- 
tion in  the  Catholic  Church,  its  system  of  instruction  be- 
came elaborate  and  prolonged,  and  candidates  were  de- 
layed in  these  schools  of  instruction  for  many  months, 
even  for  several  years,  before  they  were  allowed  to  be 
baptized.  The  tendency  of  such  an  institution  was  to 
foster  the  idea  that  men  might  be  educated  into  Christi- 
anity, and  to  decrease  the  reliance  of  the  church  upon 
the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  conversion  of  men. 
The  practical  result  was  to  introduce  many  into  the 
church  who  had  never  been  subjects  of  the  regenerating 
grace  of  God,  but  had  simply  been  instructed  in  Chris- 


52  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

tianity  as  a  system  of  theology  or  philosophy,  and  their 
intellectual  assent  to  its  teachings  was  accepted  as  equiv- 
alent to  saving  faith.  What  might  have  been  and  doubt- 
less was  at  first  an  effective  agency  for  good,  became  an 
instrument  for  the  corruption  of  the  church.  While  it 
endured  and  flourished,  however  (from  the  second  to  the 
fifth  centuries),  the  catechumenate  was  an  evidence  not 
to  be  controverted  of  the  general  prevalence  of  adult 
baptism.  Its  decline  and  the  growth  of  infant  baptism 
were  synchronous. 

The  idea  of  sacramental  grace  did  not  stop  with  the 
corruption  of  the  doctrine  of  baptism,  but  extended  to 
the  Communion,  or  Eucharist,  as  it  came  to  be  generally 
called  from  the  second  century  onward.  There  are  pas- 
sages in  the  early  Fathers  that  amply  justify  the  later 
doctrine  known  as  the  real  presence  and  consubstantia- 
tion,  if  they  do  not  go  to  the  extreme  length  of  transub- 
stantiation.  With  the  decrease  of  vital  faith  the  in- 
crease of  formalism  kept  pace,  and  the  administration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  from  being  a  simple  and  spiritual 
ceremony,  became  surrounded  by  a  cloud  of  ritual  and 
finally  developed  into  the  mass  of  the  Roman  Church. 
Laying  as  great  a  stress  as  Luther  did  later  upon  the  mere 
letter  of  Scripture,  the  church  of  the  third  and  fourth 
centuries  insisted  that  the  words  "  This  is  my  body  " 
were  to  be  accepted  by  all  faithful  Christians  as  a  literal 
statement  of  truth,  and  that  Paul's  words  when  he 
says  that  the  broken  bread  is  the  body  of  Christ  do  not 
indicate  a  spiritual  partaking  of  Christ's  nature,  but  a 
literal  and  materialistic  reception  of  it  and  through  the 
bread  and  wine. 

The  development  of  the  sacerdotal  idea  was  an  equally 
powerful  agency  in  corrupting  the  church.  Though  the 
idea  of  a  priesthood,  other  than  the  priesthood  of  all  be- 
lievers, is  not  found  in  the  New  Testament,  we  find  it 


Page  52 


The  Baptistery  o:'  St.  John   f.ATRRAf 


THE    HOLY   CATHOLIC   CHURCH  53 

very  early  in  the  post-apostolic  literature.  Both  Jews 
and  pagans  were  familiar  with  this  idea  of  a  priesthood, 
and  they  naturally,  almost  inevitably,  carried  their  old 
religious  ideas  over  into  the  religion  that  they  had 
adopted  in  their  adult  years.  For  a  time  the  Fathers 
seem  to  have  used  sacerdotal  terms  as  they  used  sacra- 
mental terms,  with  a  figurative  rather  than  a  literal  mean- 
ing. When  they  speak  of  "  sanctuary "  and  "altar," 
of  ''  priest "  and  "  sacrifice,"  they  do  not  at  first  mean 
all  that  those  words  literally  imply;  but  it  was  not  long 
before  the  figure  of  speech  disappeared  and  the  literal 
meaning  only  remained.  Clement  of  Rome  was  the  first 
writer  to  draw  a  parallel  between  the  Christian  ministry 
and  the  Levitical  priesthood,  and  is  the  first  to  speak  of 
the  "  laity  "  as  distinct  from  the  clergy.  In  Tertullian 
and  Cyprian  we  may  trace  the  completion  of  the  process, 
and  by  the  end  of  the  third  century  or  early  in  the 
fourth,  the  idea  was  generally  accepted  that  the  clergy 
formed  an  ecclesiastical  or  sacerdotal  order,  a  priestly 
caste  completely  separate  from  the  laity. 

So  great  a  corruption  in  the  idea  of  the  functions  of 
the  ministry  could  hardly  be  unaccompanied  by  a  change 
in  its  form ;  and  the  degeneration  we  have  traced  in  the 
practices  of  the  church  would  naturally  affect  its  polity. 
What  we  might  reasonably  expect  to  happen  did  in  fact 
come  to  pass.  In  the  New  Testament  we  find  presbyter- 
bishops,  one  office  with  two  interchangeable  titles,  but 
early  in  the  second  century  we  find  bishops  and  pres- 
byters, two  offices,  not  one,  the  bishop  being  superior  to 
the  presbyters.  Just  how  this  happened  is  not  known, 
but  it  is  supposed  that  in  churches  where  a  plurality  of 
elders  was  found,  one  of  the  presbyters  became  the 
leader  or  president — whether  by  seniority,  force  of  char- 
acter or  election  can  only  be  conjectured,  and  is  unim- 
portant.     To    him    the    title    of   bishop    was    gradually 


54  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

appropriated,  so  that  from  being  at  first  only  primus  inter 
pares  he  came,  after  a  generation  or  two,  to  be  re- 
garded as  superior  to  the  presbyters.  This  is  the  state 
of  things  that  we  find  in  the  letters  of  Ignatius,  written 
about  the  year  a.  d.  115.  But  the  bishop  was  as  yet 
bishop  of  a  single  church,  though  there  may  have  been 
several  congregations,  each  with  its  presbyters.  The 
state  of  things  was  not  unlike  that  which  we  find  now 
in  some  of  our  large  cities,  where  a  church  has  a  pastor 
and  several  assistants,  ministers  like  himself,  who  have 
charge  of  mission  stations  in  various  parts  of  the  city. 
If,  now,  we  were  to  give  to  such  a  pastor  the  exclusive 
title  of  bishop,  and  regard  his  assistants  as  presbyters 
only,  we  should  almost  exactly  reproduce  the  polity  that 
we  find  in  Ignatius. 

How  and  when  this  episcopate  became  diocesan  we 
do  not  exactly  know.  As  the  churches  of  the  great 
cities  in  the  empire  sent  out  preachers  into  the  suburbs 
and  adjacent  towns,  and  new  churches  were  formed,  they 
would  not  unnaturally  come  under  the  authority  of  this 
bishop.  We  find  from  Irengeus  onward  his  jurisdiction, 
originally  described  as  his  parish  (paroikia),  gradually 
enlarging,  until  the  third  century  sees  the  diocesan  sys- 
tem quite  fully  established.  Cyprian  goes  so  far  as  to 
call  the  bishop  the  vicegerent  of  Christ  in  things  spiritual, 
and  almost  to  make  him  the  church  itself :  "  The  church 
is  in  the  bishop,  and  the  bishop  is  in  the  church,  and 
if  any  one  is  not  with  the  bishop  he  is  not  in  the  church." 

We  may  also  trace  in  these  early  centuries  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  characteristic  doctrines  and  practices 
that  we  associate  with  Romanism.  "  The  church  of  the 
first  four  centuries "  is  the  shibboleth  of  many  High 
Churchmen,  but  they  who  adopt  this  motto  must  as- 
suredly be  wofully  ignorant  of  the  Fathers  about  whom 
they  talk  so  much.     If  all  roads  do  not  lead  to  Rome, 


THE    HOLY    CATHOLIC    CHURCH  55 

this  one  certainly  does.  Make  antiquity  the  test  of  truth 
and  Rome  has  the  argument — if  by  "  antiquity  "  is  meant 
as  is  usually  the  case,  the  first  four  centuries  of  Chris- 
tianity, exclusive  of  the  evidence  of  the  New  Testament. 
In  those  centuries  we  find  the  full  doctrine  of  the  mass, 
the  doctrine  of  penance,  confession  and  priestly  absolu- 
tion, purgatory,  the  invocation  of  saints  and  the  use  of 
images  in  worship.  In  short,  we  find  all  of  Romanism 
but  its  name  and  the  pope. 

We  find  another  thing,  not  alone  characteristic  of  Ro- 
manism, though  most  prominent  in  that  system,  a  growth 
of  asceticism  resulting  in  the  practice  of  clerical  celibacy 
and  monachism.  This  likewise  may  be  traced  to  the 
root-idea  of  salvation  by  works.  The  Gnostic  and  Man- 
ichsean  heresies,  though  nominally  rejected  by  the 
Church,  were  in  part  accepted.  Teaching  an  eternal 
conflict  between  spirit  and  matter,  and  that  the  latter  is 
the  source  of  all  evil,  this  philosophy  was  easily  recon- 
ciled with  the  idea  of  salvation  by  works.  Sin  was  held 
to  be  the  result  of  the  union  of  man's  spirit  with  a  body, 
and  only  by  keeping  the  body  under,  mortifying  the  flesh 
by  fasting  and  maceration,  could  sin  be  overcome.  The 
contempt  for  marriage  and  the  undue  exaltation  of  vir- 
ginity that  appears  in  the  Fathers,  notably  in  Jerome, 
not  only  gave  impetus  to  monachism  and  the  celibacy  of 
the  clergy,  with  their  vast  train  of  evils,  but  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  exaltation  of  Mary  above  her  Son,  and 
the  idolatries  and  blasphemies  of  Roman  Catholicism. 

It  would  be  unprofitable  to  go  further  into  the  details 
of  this  doctrinal  and  moral  corruption  of  Christianity. 
All  its  ramifications  sprang  from  the  one  idea  that  sal- 
vation is  not  the  free  gift  of  God  through  Christ,  but 
something  to  be  earned  by  human  effort  or  purchased 
from  a  store  of  merits  laid  up  by  the  saints.  But  it  is 
worth  our  while  to  note,  in  conclusion,  that  the  rapidity 


56  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

with  which  the  doctrine,  ritual,  and  poHty  of  the  early 
church  degenerated,  was  directly  proportioned  to  its 
growth  in  wealth  and  worldly  prosperity.  There  is  no 
lesson  taught  by  the  first  centuries  that  needs  to  be 
learned  now  by  Baptists  more  than  this.  So  long  as  the 
church  was  feeble,  persecuted,  and  poor,  though  in  some 
things  it  departed  from  the  standard  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, it  was  comparatively  pure  in  both  doctrine  and 
life.  Adversity  refined  and  strengthened  it ;  prosperity 
weakened  and  corrupted  it.  What  the  persecutions  of 
Nero  and  Domitian  were  powerless  to  accomplish,  the 
patronage  of  Constantine  and  his  successors  did  only  too 
well.  Baptists  have  had  their  period  of  adversity,  when 
they  inherited  Christ's  promise,  "  Blessed  are  ye  when 
men  shall  reproach  you,  and  persecute  you,  and  say  all 
manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake."  Will 
they  endure  the  harder  test  of  prosperity,  when  they  are 
great  in  numbers,  in  wealth,  in  influence,  so  that  all  men 
speak  well  of  them? 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    A    PURE    CHURCH 

THIS  degeneration  in  the  church,  whose  stages  we 
traced  in  the  preceding  chapter,  was  a  gradual 
process,  whose  completion  occupied  several  centuries.  It 
did  not  occur  without  resistance,  determined,  pro- 
longed, and  frequently  renewed.  Many  attempts  were 
made  at  a  reformation  of  the  church,  a  return  to  the 
simplicity  and  purity  of  the  apostolic  churches.  The 
truth  was  not  totally  eclipsed  at  first,  only  obscured; 
from  time  to  time  men  taught  anew  the  spiritual  nature 
of  Christ's  church,  the  necessity  of  regeneration  in  order 
to  membership  in  a  church  of  Christ,  salvation  by  grace 
and  not  by  sacraments  and  penances.  At  times  these 
reactions  promised  to  be  successful,  but  they  all  in  turn 
failed  to  effect  their  object.  Some  failed  by  their  own 
inherent  weakness,  others  were  suppressed  by  force,  and 
in  the  end  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  triumphed  over 
them  all.  It  is  instructive  to  consider  the  causes  of  the 
partial  success  and  the  final  failure  of  these  attempts  to 
restore  an  evangelical  Christianity. 

The  first  of  these  protests  against  the  corrupt  teach- 
ings and  life  that  had  come  to  be  prevalent  in  the  church, 
even  in  the  second  century,  was  Montanism.  Little  is 
positively  known  about  the  origin  of  the  Montanists, 
and  even  the  existence  of  their  reputed  founder  has  been 
denied.  Montanus  is  said  to  have  been  a  native  of 
Phrygia,  a  converted  priest  of  Cybele,  and  began  his 
teachings  about  150.  He  soon  gathered  about  him  many 
followers,  among  whom  were  two  women  of  rank,  Maxi- 

57 


58  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

milla  and  Priscilla  (Prisca),  who  left  their  husbands  to 
become  evangelists  of  the  new  sect,  among  whom  they 
were  soon  esteemed  prophetesses.  The  new  teaching 
spread  with  great  rapidity,  and  for  a  time  met  with 
little  opposition.  We  are  more  fortunate  in  regard  to 
the  Montanists  than  in  the  case  of  many  "  heretical  " 
sects,  for  we  are  not  dependent  solely  on  their  Catholic 
opponents  for  a  knowledge  of  their  teachings ;  a  large 
part  of  the  writings  of  Tertullian,  their  ablest  adherent 
and  advocate,  are  also  available  for  our  instruction  in 
this  matter.  From  these  and  other  sources  we  gather 
that  the  characteristic  doctrines  of  Montanism  were 
three. 

First,  they  clearly  apprehended  the  fundamental  truth 
that  a  church  of  Christ  should  consist  of  the  regenerate 
only.  As  a  result  of  the  doctrine  of  sacramental  grace, 
large  numbers  were  becoming  members  of  the  church 
who,  in  the  judgment  of  the  most  charitable,  could  not 
be  regarded  as  regenerate.  This  was  true  of  the  adults 
baptized  on  profession  of  faith,  and  the  case  became 
continually  worse  as  the  practice  of  infant  baptism  ex- 
tended. Montanus  advocated  a  return  to  the  principle 
of  the  New  Testament — a  spiritual  church.  His  im- 
mediate followers  called  themselves  "  spiritual  "  Chris- 
tians, as  distinguished  from  the  "  carnal "  who  were 
found  in  the  Catholic  Church  in  great  numbers.  The 
Spirit  of  God  has  not  only  regenerated  every  Christian, 
they  taught,  but  dwells  in  an  especial  manner  in  every 
believer,  even  as  Jesus  promised  the  Paraclete  (John 
i6:  13). 

So  far  the  Montanists  were  strictly  scriptural.  But 
they  went  on  to  teach  that  by  virtue  of  this  indwelling 
of  the  Paraclete  the  "  spiritual  "  not  only  received  an 
illumination  that  enabled  them  to  apprehend  the  truth 
already  revealed,  but  were  given  special  revelations.    The 


THE   STRUGGLE    FOR   A    PURE    CHURCH  59 

gifts  of  prophecy  and  divine  inspiration  were  therefore 
perpetual  in  the  church.  The  Montanistic  prophets 
spoke  with  tongues,  with  accompaniments  of  ecstasy  and 
trance.  Montanus  himself  seems  to  have  brought  over 
to  his  Christian  faith  not  a  few  of  his  heathen  notions. 
Soothsaying  and  divination,  accompanied  by  ecstasy  and 
trance,  were  characteristic  of  the  Cybele  cultus ;  and 
though  the  Montanists  rejected  the  soothsaying  and  div- 
ination as  Satanic,  they  believed  the  ecstasy  and  trance 
to  be  marks  of  divine  communications.  The  revelations 
thus  received  by  these  prophets  were  held  to  be  supple- 
mentary, and  in  a  sense  superior,  to  Scripture.  A  spe- 
cial sanctity  was  attributed  to  the  sayings  of  Montanus, 
Maximilla,  and  Prisca;  but  the  few  examples  that  have 
been  preserved  seem  in  nowise  remarkable. 

This  was  perhaps  the  gravest  departure  of  Montanism 
from  the  model  of  New  Testament  Christianity  on  which 
it  professed  to  be  formed.  This  single  note  shows  a 
complete  separation  in  spirit  between  Montanists  and 
those  whose  fundamental  belief  is  that  in  the  canon  of 
Scripture  we  have  a  complete  and  authoritative  revela- 
tion from  God,  and  that  whatever  contradicts  the  written 
word  is  of  necessity  to  be  rejected  as  untrue.  One  may 
trace  a  curious  correspondence  in  many  things  between 
this  Montanistic  teaching  and  the  doctrine  regarding  the 
"  inner  light  "  held  by  the  Society  of  Friends ;  and  an 
equally  curious  correspondence  between  the  history  of 
Montanism  and  the  rise  in  our  own  day  of  the  sect 
known  as  Irvingites,  though  they  prefer  to  call  them- 
selves the  Catholic  Apostolic  Church.  It  has  often  hap- 
pened in  the  history  of  Christianity  that  a  sect  or  party, 
beginning  with  the  object  of  restoring  the  doctrine  and 
practice  of  apostolic  times,  has  fallen  into  fanaticism  and 
false  teaching,  because,  like  Montanism,  it  failed  to  keep 
closely  to  the  word  of  God,  as  the  sole  and  sufficient  rule 


6o  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

of  faith  and  practice,  not  to  be  supplemented  by  pre- 
tended new  revelations  any  more  than  by  the  traditions 
of  men.  The  supreme  authority  of  the  New  Testament 
is  the  only  safe  principle  for  a  reformation  of  religion ; 
if  the  history  of  the  church  teaches  anything  it  teaches 
that. 

The  second  of  the  chief  features  in  Montanism  was 
a  belief  in  the  speedy  coming  of  Christ  to  reign  with 
his  saints  a  thousand  years.  The  fragmentary  sayings 
of  their  prophets  that  have  come  down  to  us,  the  writ- 
ings of  Tertullian,  and  the  testimonies  of  the  Catholic 
writers  against  Montanism  combine  to  make  this  certain. 
This  chiliastic  doctrine  was  then,  as  often  in  the  later 
ages  of  Christianity,  tinged  with  fanaticism.  Wherever 
it  has  been  held  by  any  considerable  body  of  Christians, 
it  has  been  associated  with  grave  errors  and  serious 
disturbances. 

This  teaching  regarding  the  second  coming  of  Christ 
doubtless  gave  a  great  stimulus  to  the  ascetic  spirit 
among  the  Montanists,  which  was  their  third  leading 
characteristic.  Their  idea  of  a  regenerate  church  nat- 
urally necessitated  a  strict  discipline,  but  by  no  means 
discipline  on  an  ascetic  basis.  The  Scriptures  teach  the 
need  of  self-control,  temperance,  subduing  the  lust  of 
the  flesh,  keeping  the  body  under;  but  this  victory  is  to 
be  won  by  spiritual,  not  by  physical  means.  Keeping 
the  body  under  does  not  mean  starving  or  macerating 
the  body.  The  New  Testament  honors  the  body,  and 
does  not  teach  that  it  is  the  essential  enemy  of  the  spirit. 
That  is  a  heathen  notion,  probably  derived  from  the 
Manichaeans,  or  possibly  from  the  Gnostics,  who  also 
taught  the  essential  evil  of  matter. 

From  some  such  source,  certainly  not  from  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  Montanists  obtained  the  notion  that  to  mortify 
the  flesh  is  the  road  to  heaven;  and  among  them  fasts 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR   A   PURE   CHURCH  6l 

and  vigils  were  commended,  if  not  commanded,  as  pro- 
ductive of  the  bodily  state  most  conducive  to  holiness. 
In  similar  spirit  they  forbade  the  use  of  ornaments. 
They  exalted  virginity  above  marriage,  as  a  state  of 
greater  purity,  and  forbade  second  marriage  as  equiva- 
lent to  adultery.  Seven  sins  were  regarded  as  peculiarly 
deadly  or  mortal  (pride,  covetousness,  lust,  anger,  glut- 
tony, envy,  sloth),  which  when  committed  after  baptism, 
might  be  forgiven  by  God,  but  should  forever  cut  the 
sinner  off  from  communion  with  the  church. 

At  first  Montanism  was  rather  a  party  than  a  sect,  an 
ecclesiola  in  ecclesia,  and  for  a  time  it  was  tolerated  by 
the  bishop  of  Rome  and  seemed  likely  to  prevail  in  the 
church.  The  Roman  bishop  finally  rejected  Montanism 
as  a  heresy,  and  his  already  recognized  primacy  in  the 
West,  at  least,  caused  this  decision  to  be  generally  ac- 
cepted.    Professor  Moller  ^  is  simply  just  when  he  says : 

Soon  the  conflict  assumed  such  a  form  that  the  Montanists 
were  compelled  to  separate  from  the  Catholic  Church  and  form 
an  independent  or  schismatic  church.  But  Montanism  was, 
nevertheless,  not  a  new  form  of  Christianity ;  nor  were  the 
Montanists  a  new  sect.  On  the  contrary,  Montanism  was  simply 
a  reaction  of  the  old,  the  primitive  church,  against  the  obvious 
tendency  of  the  church  of  the  day — to  strike  a  bargain  with  the 
world,  and  arrange  herself  comfortably  in  it. 

Much  nonsense  has  been  written  by  historians  about 
Montanism,  because  they  could  not  or  would  not  grasp 
this  idea.  The  Montanists  were  in  general  rigidly  or- 
thodox, and  no  serious  aberration  from  the  Catholic 
faith  is  alleged  against  them  by  their  opponents.  No 
council  formally  condemned  them,  and  they  were  treated 
as  schismatics  rather  than  as  heretics.  For  their  schism 
the  Catholic  Church  was  responsible ;  they  did  not  go 
out,  they  were  driven  out  from  the  church.     The  church 

*  SchafF-Herzog   Encyclopedia,   article   "  Montanism." 


62  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

at  large  resisted  and  rejected  the  reformation  that  Mon- 
tanism  attempted,  but  it  adopted  precisely  those  features 
in  Alontanism  that  were  least  scriptural — namely,  its 
asceticism,  and  its  belief  that  the  written  revelation  ad- 
mits of  supplementary  revelations.  There  is  this  differ- 
ence, however,  that  Rome  makes  the  Spirit  dwell  in  the 
church  at  large,  not  in  each  believer,  so  that  his  revela- 
tions are  made  through  the  church,  and  especially 
through  its  head,  both  church  and  pope  being  preserved 
from  error  by  this  indwelling  Spirit. 

Of  course  the  Montanists  immersed — no  other  bap- 
tism, so  far  as  we  know,  was  practised  by  anybody  in 
the  second  century.  There  is  no  evidence  that  they  bap- 
tized infants,  and  their  principle  of  a  regenerate  church 
would  naturally  require  the  baptism  of  believers  only. 
In  their  polity  they  seem  not  to  have  differed  from  the 
Catholics ;  for,  though  Tertullian  speaks  as  if  the  idea 
of  the  priesthood  of  all  believers  was  prevalent  among 
them,  he  also  speaks  of  "  bishop  and  clergy,"  and  the 
"  ecclesiastical  order."  The  only  natural  conclusion, 
from  his  undoubtedly  IMontanistic  writings,  is  that  the 
Montanist  bishop  was  like  the  Catholic,  an  officer  above 
the  presbyter  in  rank  and  authority. 

Montanism  declined  rapidly  after  the  fourth  century, 
though  traces  of  it  are  found  as  late  as  the  sixth.  It 
has  seemed  worth  while  to'  set  down  thus  fully  the  ascer- 
tained facts  concerning  this  party,  because  many  writers 
have  claimed  that  the  Montanists  were  Baptists  in  all 
but  the  name.  Nothing  has  been  said  concerning  them 
except  what  is  abundantly  proved  by  their  own  litera- 
ture ;  and  every  intelligent  reader  will  be  able  to  judge 
for  himself  in  what  respects  they  held  the  views  of 
modern  Baptists  and  how  far  they  diverged  from  what 
we  hold  to  be  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures. 

Another   partial   reformation   of   the   church  was   at- 


THE  STRUGGLE   FOR  A   PURE   CHURCH  63 

tempted  by  the  Novatians  about  the  middle  of  the  third 
century.  Novatian  was  the  man  whose  cUnic  baptism 
has  ah-eady  been  described.  He  recovered  from  his  sup- 
posed mortal  sickness  and  was  ordained  a  presbyter  by 
Fabian,  bishop  of  the  church  of  Rome.  When  Fabian 
died,  in  250,  there  was  a  vacancy  in  the  office  for  about 
a  year.  The  terrible  Decian  persecution  was  then  rag- 
ing, and  many  Christians,  overcome  by  the  prospect  of 
death,  denied  the  faith  and  sacrificed  to  the  emperor. 
The  question  soon  arose,  What  should  be  done  with  these 
faithless  Christians  (lapsi)  when  they  afterward  pro- 
fessed penitence,  and  desired  to  be  readmitted  into  the 
church  ? 

Two  views  prevailed,  and  soon  two  rival  parties  in 
the  church  advocated  them.  One  party  favored  a  strict 
discipline;  those  who  had  lapsed  had  committed  mortal 
sin  through  their  idolatry  and  should  remain  perpetually 
excluded  from  the  church — though  even  the  stricter  party 
conceded  that  if  one  of  the  lapsed  were  sick  unto  death 
he  should  be  absolved.  The  other  party  held  that  per- 
petual exclusion  of  the  lapsed  from  the  church  and  its 
sacraments — in  which  alone  salvation  could  be  found — 
was  to  anticipate  the  judgment  of  God.  They,  there- 
fore would  take  a  more  merciful  view  of  the  infirmity 
of  those  who  had  yielded  under  the  stress  of  persecu- 
tion, and  would  restore  the  lapsed  to  the  communion  of 
the  church,  after  a  public  confession  and  a  period  of 
probation. 

During  the  vacancy  in  the  Roman  episcopate,  No- 
vatian was  the  leading  man  in  the  church,  and  strongly 
inclined  toward  the  stricter  discipline.  The  laxer  party 
seem,  however,  to  have  been  in  the  majority,  and  in  251 
they  elected  Cornelius  as  bishop.  His  election  appears 
to  have  been  entirely  regular,  but  the  stricter  party  would 
not   acknowledge   him,   and   chose   Novatian,   who   was 


64  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

consecrated  by  three  obscure  Italian  bishops.  A  synod 
held  at  Rome,  probably  in  October,  257,  excommunicated 
him  and  his  followers.  Thereafter  they  constituted  a 
separate  sect,  called  by  their  opponents  Novatians,  but 
themselves  preferring  the  title  of  Cathari  (the  pure). 
The  Novatians  were  the  earliest  Anabaptists ;  refusing  to 
recognize  as  valid  the  ministry  and  sacraments  of  their 
opponents,  and  claiming  to  be  the  true  church,  they  were 
logically  compelled  to  rebaptize  all  who  came  to  them 
from  the  Catholic  Church.  The  party  gained  great 
strength  in  Asia  Minor,  where  many  Montanists  joined 
it,  and  in  spite  of  persecution,  the  Novatians  survived 
to  the  sixth  or  seventh  century.  In  this  case,  as  generally, 
persecution  stimulated  what  it  would  have  destroyed. 

The  Donatist  party  in  Africa,  like  the  Novatians  in 
Rome,  seemed  to  originate  in  a  mere  squabble  over  an 
office.  Two  parties  were  formed  in  the  church  of 
Carthage  regarding  the  treatment  of  those  who  had  sur- 
rendered the  sacred  books  to  be  burned  during  the  Dio- 
cletian persecution  (303-311).  These  traditores,  as  they 
were  called,  incurred  great  odium.  When  Caecilian  was 
elected  bishop  of  Carthage  in  311,  it  was  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  those  who  favored  the  readmission  of 
traditores  to  the  church  on  easy  terms.  He  was  conse- 
crated bishop  by  Felix  of  Aptunga,  instead  of  Secundas 
of  Tigisis,  the  primate  of  Numidia.  This  was  irregular, 
yet  not  in  itself  invalid ;  but  the  stricter  party  refused 
to  recognize  Caecilian,  on  the  ground  that  Felix  was  a 
traditor,  and  even  Caecilian  himself  was  not  above  sus- 
picion on  this  score.  The  real  issue  at  stake  was  not 
who  should  be  bishop  of  Carthage,  but  what  should  be 
the  character  of  that  church,  and  of  the  Christian 
churches  of  Africa  generally.  Dr.  Schaff  says  of  the 
controversy,  writing  with  a  candor  and  insight  not 
common  among  church  historians: 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR  A    PURE   CHURCH  65 

The  Donatist  controversy  was  a  conflict  between  separatism 
and  Catholicism ;  between  ecclesiastical  purism  and  ecclesiastical 
eclecticism ;  between  the  idea  of  the  church  as  an  exclusive  com- 
munity of  regenerate  saints  and  the  idea  of  the  church  as  the 
general  Christendom  of  State  and  people.  It  revolved  around 
the  doctrine  of  the  essence  of  the  Christian  church,  and,  in  par- 
ticular, of  the  predicate  of  holiness.  .  .  The  Donatists  .  .  . 
laid  chief  stress  on  the  predicate  of  the  subjective  holiness  or 
personal  worthiness  of  the  several  members,  and  made  the  catho- 
licity of  the  church  and  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments  dependent 
upon  that.  The  true  church,  therefore,  is  not  so  much  a  school 
of  holiness,  as  a  society  of  those  who  are  already  holy;  or  at 
least  of  those  who  appear  so;  for  that  there  are  hypocrites,  not 
even  the  Donatists  could  deny,  and  as  little  could  they  in  earnest 
claim  infallibility  in  their  own  discernment  of  men.  By  the  tol- 
eration of  those  who  are  openly  sinful,  the  church  loses  her 
holiness,  and  ceases  to  be  a  church.^ 

Unfortunately,  the  Donatists  made  one  capital  error: 
they  appealed  to  the  civil  power  to  decide  the  question 
that  was  in  its  essence  spiritual.  Donatus  himself,  who 
was  chosen  bishop  of  Carthage  by  the  stricter  party  in 
315,  seems  to  have  been  opposed  from  the  first  to  the 
intermeddling  of  the  emperor  with  religious  questions, 
but  his  party  was  not  controlled  by  him  in  this  matter. 
Constantine  referred  the  dispute  first  to  a  select  com- 
mittee of  bishops,  then  to  the  synod  of  Aries,  and  finally 
decided  the  question  himself  on  appeal.  All  these  de- 
cisions were  against  the  Donatists ;  and  after  the  case 
had  irrevocably  gone  against  them,  they  came  out  ,as 
stanch  defenders  of  religious  liberty,  and  denied  the 
right  of  the  civil  power  to  meddle  in  matters  of  faith 
and  discipline.  Their  disinterestedness  in  taking  this 
stand  would  have  been  less  open  to  suspicion  if  they  had 
professed  it  in  the  first  instance  and  abstained  from  all 
appeals  to  the  imperial  power  against  their  opponents. 
One  who  appeals  to  a  court  for  redress  is  estopped  in 

1  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  \'ol.   III.,  p.  365. 
E 


66  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

honor,  as  well  as  in  law,  from  afterward  denying  its 
jurisdiction. 

Like  the  Novatians,  the  Donatists  were  Anabaptists, 
but  their  rebaptizing  seems  to  have  been  based  on  a 
false  idea,  namely,  that  in  baptism  the  chief  thing  is 
not  the  qualifications  of  the  baptized,  but  those  of  the 
baptizer.  The  Donatists  and  Novatians  both  rebaptized 
those  who  came  to  them  from  the  Catholic  Church,  not 
because  they  did  not  believe  these  persons  regenerate 
when  baptized,  but  because  they  denied  the  "  orders  "  of 
the  Catholic  clergy.  These  ministers  had  been  ordained 
by  traditores,  by  bishops  who  were  corrupt ;  they  were 
members  of  a  church  that  had  apostatized  from  the  pure 
faith,  and  therefore  had  no  valid  ministry  or  sacra- 
ments ;  and  for  this  reason  their  baptism  could  not  be 
accepted. 

Neither  of  these  attempted  reformations  was  suf- 
ficiently radical.  Novatians  and  Donatists  seem  to  have 
shared  the  errors  of  the  Catholic  Church  regarding  sac- 
ramental grace ;  their  episcopacy  cannot  be  distinguished 
from  that  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  was  certainly  far 
from  the  simplicity  of  apostolic  order.  The  Donatists, 
at  any  rate,  seem  to  have  practised  infant  baptism ;  on 
any  other  supposition  the  arguments  of  Augustine,  in 
refutation  of  their  errors,  are  unintelligible.  Both  sects 
grasped  the  great  truth  of  the  essentially  spiritual  nature 
of  the  church,  the  necessity  of  regeneration  and  a  godly 
life  to  membership  in  it ;  but  they  failed  to  follow  this 
truth  to  its  logical  implications  and  to  return  to  the  New 
Testament  faith  and  practice  in  all  things. 

Many  writers  have  treated  this  period  as  if  the  truth 
were  only  to  be  found  with  the  so-called  heretics,  as- 
suming that  the  Catholic  Church  must  necessarily  be 
always  in  the  wrong.     But  such  is  by  no  means  the  case ; 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    A    PURE    CHURCH  6/ 

we  are,  on  the  contrary,  often  compelled  to  admit  that 
as  between  the  heretical  sects  and  the  Catholic  Church 
the  truth  was  with  the  latter.  Wrong  doctrine  and 
practice  were  by  no  means  uniformly  triumphant.  This 
was  especially  evident  in  the  notable  controversies  re- 
garding the  doctrine  of  the  Person  of  Christ.  Corrupt 
as  Christianity  was  fast  becoming,  it  had  kept  close  to  the 
Scripture  in  the  fundamentals  of  Christian  theology  until 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century.  Then  Arius,  a 
presbyter  of  Alexandria,  taught  a  doctrine,  the  germs 
of  which  may  be  found  in  the  teachings  of  his  pre- 
decessors (notably,  Origen),  but  was  first  fully  elab- 
orated by  his  logical  and  acute  mind.  His  teaching  was 
that  the  Father  alone  is  God,  unbegotten,  unchangeable. 
The  Son  is  the  first  of  created  beings,  who  existed  be- 
fore the  worlds  were  and  created  them ;  he  is  the  Logos, 
the  perfect  image  of  God,  and  may  be  called  God  in  a 
sense ;  but  he  is  not  eternal,  for  he  had  a  beginning, 
and  is  not  of  the  same  substance  as  the  Father.  Arius 
was  an  adroit,  fascinating  man,  and  propagated  his  doc- 
trine industriously.  It  obtained  great  currency  in  Pal- 
estine and  Nicomedia,  and  spread  to  all  parts  of  the 
empire,  threatening  to  displace  the  orthodox  faith. 

This  spread  was  accompanied  by  much  bitter  contro- 
versy, and  this  fact  moved  Constantine  to  interfere.  He 
was  anxious,  for  political  reasons,  to  preserve  the  peace 
and  unity  of  the  church,  otherwise  its  value  to  him  as  an 
instrument  of  governing  was  gone.  He  therefore  sum- 
moned a  council  of  the  bishops  of  the  church,  who,  to  the 
number  of  more  than  300,  assembled  at  Nicsea  in  325. 
When  he  accepted  Christianity,  he  made  it  the  religion — 
or,  at  least,  a  religion — of  the  State.  The  emperor  was 
the  Pontifex  Maximus  of  the  old  religion,  its  official  head 
and  high  priest;  and  though  but  a  layman  in  the  new 
faith,   he  nevertheless   aspired  to   a   similar  position   of 


68  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

authority.  Constantine,  though  at  that  time  not  even 
baptized,  presided  in  his  robes  of  State  at  the  council  of 
Nice,  took  an  influential  part  in  its  business  and  greatly 
influenced  if  he  did  not  practically  dictate  its  findings. 
This  council  decided  against  the  Arians  and  adopted  the 
orthodox  creed  that,  with  some  later  changes,  still  bears 
its  name. 

Under  Julian  the  apostate,  orthodoxy  suffered  a  re- 
verse and  Arianism  again  seemed  about  to  triumph ;  but 
when  Theodosius  I.  became  emperor — he  having  been 
trained  under  Nicene  influences — he  used  all  his  power, 
and  successfully,  to  suppress  the  heresy.  The  conflict 
was  practically  ended  with  the  council  of  Constantinople 
(381),  which  readopted  the  Nicene  creed,  and  from  that 
time  Arianism  gradually  disappears  as  a  dangerous 
heresy,  though  it  often  reappeared  in  later  ages.  For 
a  time,  indeed,  a  form  of  semi-Arianism  lingered  in  the 
church.  The  orthodox  maintained  that  the  Son  is  of  the 
same  substance  with  the  Father  (homo-ousion)  ;  the  Ari- 
ans that  he  is  of  a  different  substance  (hetero-oiision)  ; 
the  semi-Arians  that  he  is  of  a  like  substance  {homoi- 
ousion)i  Like  most  compromises,  semi-Arianism  could 
not  be  permanently  acceptable  to  either  party;  to  the 
orthodox  it  seemed  as  objectionable  as  Arianism  itself, 
while  to  the  Arians,  though  they  were  at  first  willing  to 
accept  it  as  a  compromise  (indeed,  it  came  near  getting 
into  the  Nicene  creed),  it  seemed  to  concede  too  much 
to  orthodoxy. 

Athanasius,  the  leader  of  the  orthodox  party,  in  its 
struggle  against  Arianism,  was  born  in  Alexandria  about 
298,  received  a  good  education  and  entered  the  min- 
istry. At  the  time  of  the  council  of  Nice  he  was  not 
more  than  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  and  only  an  arch- 
deacon, but  he  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the 
orthodox  party  and  had  a  large  share  in  the  definition 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR   A    PURE    CHURCH  69 

of  the  creed  adopted.  A  similar  and  even  more  remark- 
able case  of  theological  precocity  is  that  of  Calvin,  who 
published  his  immortal  "  Institutes  "  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven.  In  June,  328,  Athanasius  was  chosen  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  but  was  fiercely  opposed  from  the  first  by 
the  party  of  Arius.  Three  times  they  succeeded  in  driv- 
ing him  from  the  city,  twice  by  order  of  the  emperor 
and  once  by  violence.  At  one  time  it  seemed  a  case  of 
Athanasius  contra  mundum — this  one  man  against  the 
world ;  but  with  the  victory  of  the  orthodox  party,  he 
was  suffered  to  return  to  Alexandria  and  there  to  pass 
his  remaining  days.  He  died  in  I\Iay,  373,  before  the 
council  of  Constantinople  registered  the  final  triumph  of 
the  orthodox  faith. 

Athanasius  saw  clearly  that  a  true  doctrine  of  God 
was  the  only  foundation  for  the  absoluteness  of  Chris- 
tianity. He  defended  Christianity  as  truly  divine,  the 
highest  revelation,  an  absolute  and  final  revelation  ;  clearly 
seeing  that,  if  the  Arian  doctrine  were  true,  Christianity 
could  be  merely  relatively  true,  and  might  be  superseded 
by  a  more  perfect  revelation,  or  even  by  a  higher  human 
philosophy.  He  rightly  contended,  therefore,  that  the 
religion  of  Christ  would  be  empty  and  meaningless  if 
he  who  is  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures  as  the  one  who 
unites  God  and  man  in  real  unity  of  being  is  not  the 
absolute  God,  but  merely  the  first  of  created  beings. 
There  could  be  no  mediation  between  God  and  man  by 
such  a  being,  and  the  heart  is  therefore  taken  out  of 
Christianity  by  Arianism.  Athanasius  was  a  doughty 
champion  of  the  truth.  His  exegesis  of  Scripture  is 
often  faulty,  but  his  dialectical  skill  was  great,  and  in  his 
extant  writings  he  shows  the  philosophic  contradictions 
and  absurdities  of  the  Arian  system  in  a  masterly  way. 
Selections  from  these  writings  have  been  translated  into 
English,  and  may  be  found  in  Vol.  IV.  of  the  "  Nicene 


70  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

and  Post-Nicene  Fathers  "  (second  series).  The  so-called 
Athanasian  creed,  though  long  confidently  attributed  to 
him,  is  certainly  not  his  composition,  and  cannot  be 
positively  traced  to  an  earlier  period  than  the  eighth 
century.  This  creed  was  expunged  from  the  prayer- 
book  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  in 
1785,  but  it  is  still  required  to  be  said  or  sung  thirteen 
times  a  year  in  every  parish  of  the  Church  of  England. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  ECLIPSE  OF  EVANGELICAL  CHRISTIANITY 

FROM  the  close  of  the  apostolic  era,  even  beginning 
in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  we  have  seen  two 
opposing  tendencies  struggling  for  the  mastery  in  the 
churches  of  Christ,  which  may  be  briefly  described  as  the 
spiritual  and  the  worldly.  Jesus  and  his  apostles  taught 
salvation  by  faith,  but  almost  immediately  some  Chris- 
tians taught  salvation  by  works.  According  to  the  former 
teaching,  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  were  ordinances 
to  be  observed  by  those  regenerated  by  the  Spirit  of  God ; 
according  to  the  other  teaching  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper  were  sacraments,  channels  of  divine  grace,  by 
which  men  were  made  regenerate  and  confirmed  in  holi- 
ness. The  administration  of  such  sacraments  demanded 
a  priesthood.  So  step  by  step,  and  by  an  inevitable 
process  of  evolution,  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  works 
produced  what  we  know  to-day  as  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  at  its  head  an  infallible  pope,  outside  of  which 
church  salvation  is  assured  to  none.  Against  this  process 
of  development  various  bodies  of  Christians,  as  we  have 
seen,  contended  in  vain  during  the  first  four  centuries. 
There  were  similar  contentions  throughout  the  process. 
The  truth  was  never  quite  crushed  to  earth ;  there  were 
always  parties  or  sects,  bitterly  hated  and  persecuted  by 
Catholics,  that  held  with  more  or  less  consistency  to  the 
evangelical  religion.  These  comparatively  pure  survivals 
are  found  latest  in  the  two  extreme  portions  of  the  then 
civilized  Europe,  in  Britain  and  in  Bulgaria. 

Rome's   most   audacious   theft   was   when   she   seized 

71 


'^2  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

bodily  the  Apostle  Peter  and  made  him  the  putative  head 
and  founder  of  her  system;  but  next  to  that  brazen  act 
stands  her  effrontery  when  she  "  annexed  "  the  great  mis- 
sionary preacher  of  Ireland  and  enrolled  him  among  her 
"  saints."  In  order  to  conceal  the  true  character  of  the 
transaction,  Romanists  have  published  lying  biographies 
of  Patrick  without  number,  until  the  real  man  has  been 
quite  forgotten.  Modern  research  has,  however,  brought 
the  truth  to  light  once  more. 

Patrick  was  born  about  360,  probably  near  what  is  now 
Dumbarton,  Scotland.  His  father  was  a  deacon  and  a 
Roman  civil  officer.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  carried 
away  captive  and  sold  into  slavery  in  Ireland.  Six  years 
after  he  escaped,  and  in  later  life  he  was  moved  to  become 
a  Christian  missionary  to  the  people  among  whom  he  had 
lived  as  a  slave.  These  facts,  and  all  other  trustworthy 
information  about  Patrick,  we  learn  from  two  of  his  writ- 
ings that  have  survived,  his  "  Confession  "  or  "  Epistle  to 
the  Irish,"  and  an  "  Epistle  to  Coroticus."  The  date  of 
his  death  is  as  uncertain  as  that  of  his  birth,  but  tradition 
ascribes  to  him  extreme  old  age. 

From  these  writings  of  Patrick  we  learn  that  his  teach- 
ing and  practice  were,  in  many  particulars  at  least,  evan- 
gelical. The  testimony  is  ample  that  he  baptized  believ- 
ers only.  For  example,  he  writes :  "  So  that  even  after 
my  death  I  may  leave  as  legacies  to  my  brethren,  and  to 
my  sons  whom  I  have  baptized  in  the  Lord,  so  many 
thousand  men."  "  Perhaps,  since  I  have  baptized  so  many 
thousand  men,  I  might  have  expected  half  a  screpall  [a 
coin  worth  six  cents]  from  some  of  them;  tell  it  to  me 
and  I  will  restore  it  to  you."  Not  only  is  there  no  men- 
tion of  infants,  but  he  uniformly  speaks  of  "men," 
"  handmaidens  of  Christ,"  "  women,"  and  "  baptized  be- 
lievers." It  is  inconceivable  that  he  should  not  have 
added  "  infants  "  had  he  baptized  such. 


THE  ECLIPSE  OF   EVANGELICAL  CHRISTIANITY  73 

Again,  from  all  that  we  can  learn,  Patrick's  baptism 
was  that  of  apostolic  times,  which  was  still  general 
throughout  Europe,  immersion.  He  does  not  speak  ex- 
plicitly on  this  point  in  his  own  writings,  but  the  earliest 
accounts  of  his  labors  agree  that  his  converts  were  bap- 
tized in  fountains,  wells,  and  streams.  His  baptism  prob- 
ably differed  from  the  apostolic  in  being  trine  immersion, 
since  that  was  the  form  practised  in  the  ancient  British 
church,  and  in  practically  the  whole  Christian  world  in 
his  day. 

Patrick  also  pays  great  reverence  to  Scripture  as  the 
supreme  authority  in  religion.  He  never  appeals  to  the 
authority  of  church,  or  council,  or  prelate,  or  creed,  but 
to  the  word  of  God ;  and  in  his  extant  writings,  brief  as 
they  are,  no  fewer  than  one  hundred  and  thirteen  passages 
of  Scripture  are  referred  to  or  quoted.  There  is  no  trace 
in  his  letters  of  purgatory,  mariolatry,  or  submission  to 
the  authority  of  pope.  He  did  not  oppose  these  things, 
he  was  simply  ignorant  of  them,  it  would  appear,  though 
in  some  parts  of  the  church  they  were  fast  gaining 
ground. 

The  churches  founded  by  Patrick,  and  those  existing 
in  other  parts  of  Britain,  were  not  according  to  apostolic 
pattern  in  some  things.  Patrick  was  himself  a  bishop, 
and  the  three  orders  of  the  ministry  seem  to  have  been 
already  developed  in  the  British  churches  of  his  day. 
Though  celibacy  of  the  clergy  was  not  required,  there 
was  a  strain  of  asceticism  and  monasticism  in  these 
churches  that  became  very  pronounced  in  succeeding  ages. 
It  is  probable  that  few,  if  any,  of  these  monasteries  came 
into  existence  during  Patrick's  life,  and  in  their  earlier 
stages  they  were  valuable  educational  and  missionary 
centers,  not  what  they  afterwards  became. 

The  theology  of  these  churches,  up  to  the  ninth  century, 
continued  to  be  remarkably  sound  and  scriptural.     They 


74  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

taught  original  sin  and  the  impossibiUty  of  salvation  by 
human  merits  or  effort,  Christ  alone  being  the  sinner's 
righteousness.  They  taught  the  vicarious  atonement,  the 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  conversion  of  men, 
justification  by  faith,  the  intercession  of  Christ  alone  for 
the  saints,  and  held  firmly  to  the  administration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  in  both  kinds.  Sacramentalism  began 
to  make  inroads  soon  after  Patrick's  time,  however,  for 
we  find  such  phrases  as  "  a  sacrificial  mystery,"  "  the  holy 
Eucharist,"  "  the  mysteries  of  the  sacred  Eucharist "  and 
the  like  used  to  describe  the  Supper.  This  is  a  long  way 
short  of  the  mass ;  and  so  late  as  the  ninth  century  John 
Scotus  Erigena  maintained  that  the  bread  and  wine  are 
no  more  than  the  symbols  of  the  absent  body  and  blood 
of  Christ.  These  churches  too  knew  nothing  of  the  doc- 
trine of  purgatory,  but  from  Patrick  onward  for  centuries 
taught  that  the  souls  of  the  saints  immediately  after  death 
enter  paradise  and  are  with  God. 

The  progress  from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  to  the 
corruptions  of  Romanism  was  slower  in  Ireland  and 
Britain  than  in  any  other  part  of  Europe.  Primitive 
doctrine  and  practice  survived  there,  not  in  absolute  but 
in  relative  purity,  long  after  they  had  vanished  from  the 
continent.  The  inevitable  end  came  at  last,  and  these 
churches  also  became  Romanized;  but  it  was  not  until 
the  twelfth  century  that  the  papacy  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing, with  tolerable  completeness,  its  jurisdiction  over 
the  churches  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.' 

In  the  East,  as  well  as  in  the  West,  the  corrupted  form 
of  Christianity  did  not  become  supreme  without  a  strenu- 
ous and  long-continued  resistance  on  the  part  of  a  more 
evangelical   religion.     This   was   especially   true   of  the 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  Patrick  and  his  work  see  "  Ancient  British 
and  Irish  Churches,"  Rev.  William  Cathcart,  d.  d.  Philadelphia,  1894. 
Also,  Bury,  "  Life  of  St.  Patrick  and  his  Place  in  History."  New  York, 
1905. 


THE  ECLIPSE  OF   EVANGELICAL  CHRISTIANITY  75 

region  now  known  as  Bulgaria.  From  the  fourth  century 
onward  we  find  a  group  of  sects  in  various  parts  of 
Europe,  having  a  practical  continuity  of  belief,  if  not  a 
demonstrable  historic  connection.  They  are  variously 
known  as  Paulicians,  Cathari,  Albigenses,  Bogomils,  and 
by  half  a  score  of  other  names.  These  sects  have  one 
fundamental  doctrine  in  common,  derived  from  the  Mani- 
chaeans.  Manichasism  is  not  properly  a  form  of  Christi- 
anity, but  a  distinct  religion,  as  distinct  as  Mohammedan- 
ism. It  originated  in  Persia,  about  a.  d.  250,  in  the  teach- 
ings of  Mani.  Its  distinctive  feature  is  a  theodicy,  rather 
than  a  theology,  an  explanation  of  the  moral  phenomena 
of  the  universe  by  the  hypothesis  of  the  eternal  existence 
of  two  mutually  exclusive  principles  or  forces,  one  good, 
and  the  other  evil.  These  forces,  conceived  as  personal, 
and  corresponding  to  the  God  and  Satan  of  the  Christian 
theology,  are  in  everlasting  conflict,  and  neither  can  ever 
overcome  the  other.  In  Manichasism  the  good  spirit  was 
represented  as  the  creator  of  the  world,  but  his  work  was 
vitiated  by  the  agency  of  the  evil  spirit,  which  introduced 
sin  and  death. 

The  Paulicians,  accepting  this  dualistic  system,  taught 
that  the  world  is  the  creation  of  the  evil  spirit,  not  of  the 
good.  Manichaeism,  as  it  advanced  from  Persia  through 
the  Roman  empire,  came  into  contact  with  Christianity, 
and  borrowed  from  it  some  of  the  latter's  features  that 
lent  themselves  most  easily  to  such  grafting,  but  it  was 
essentially  an  alien  religion,  and  not  a  Christian  heresy. 

The  Bogomils  are  a  typical  form  of  this  party,  more 
Christian  and  less  Manichaean  than  some  others,  and  es- 
pecially interesting  because  they  survived  all  persecutions 
down  to  the  Reformation  period.  Various  explanations 
have  been  given  of  the  name ;  some  say  it  means  "  friends 
of  God  " ;  others  trace  the  party  to  a  Bulgarian  bishop 
named  Bogomil,  who  lived  about  the  middle  of  the  tenth 


76  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

century.  What  is  certain  is  that  the  thing  is  older  than 
the  name ;  that  the  party  or  denomination  called  Bogomils 
existed  long  before  this  title  was  given  to  them.  They 
represented  through  the  medieval  period,  as  compared 
with  Rome,  the  purer  apostolic  faith  and  practice,  though 
mixed  with  some  grotesque  notions  and  a  few  serious 
errors. 

It  ought  always  to  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  for 
the  larger  part  of  our  information  regarding  those  stig- 
matized as  heretics  we  are  indebted,  not  to  their  own 
writings,  but  to  the  works  of  their  opponents.  Only  the 
titles  remain  of  the  bulk  of  heretical  writings,  and  of  the 
rest  we  have,  for  the  most  part,  only  such  quotations  as 
prejudiced  opponents  have  chosen  to  make.  That  these 
quotations  fairly  represent  the  originals  would  be  too 
much  to  assume.  With  respect  to  the  Bogomils,  our 
knowledge  is  exclusively  gained  from  their  bitter  enemies 
and  persecutors.  All  such  testimony  is  to  be  received 
with  suspicion,  and  should  be  scrupulously  weighed  and 
sifted  before  we  accept  it.  Where  these  prejudiced  op- 
ponents did  not  knowingly  misstate  the  beliefs  of  "  here- 
tics," they  often  quite  misunderstood  them,  viewing  these 
beliefs  as  they  did  through  the  distorting  lenses  of  Roman 
or  Greek  Catholicism. 

We  get  our  chief  information  about  Bogomil  doctrine 
from  the  writings  of  one  Euthymius,  a  Byzantine  monk 
who  died  in  11 18,  who  wrote  a  learned  refutation  of  these 
and  other  "  heresies  "  of  his  time.  His  account  is  gen- 
erally accepted  by  historians  as  substantially  correct — a 
most  uncritical  conclusion.  The  Bogomil  theology  as  set 
forth  by  Euthymius  was  a  fantastic  travesty  of  the  gospel, 
with  marked  Manichaean  elements.  God  had  two  sons, 
the  elder  of  whom,  called  Satanael,  was  chief  among  the 
hosts  of  heaven  and  created  the  material  universe.  In 
consequence  of  his  ambition  and  rebellion  he  was  driven 


THE  ECLIPSE  OF  EVANGELICAL  CHRISTIANITY  y^ 

from  heaven  with  his  supporters  among  the  angehc  hosts. 
Then  God  bestowed  power  on  his  younger  son,  Jesus, 
who  breathed  the  breath  of  Hfe  into  man  and  he  became 
a  Hving  soul.  Thenceforth  there  was  constant  conflict  be- 
tween Satanael  and  Jesus,  but  the  former  met  with  signal 
defeat  in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  is  destined  ulti- 
mately to  complete  overthrow.  There  are  also  traces  of 
the  docetic  heresy  in  the  theology  of  the  Bogomils ;  they 
were  said  to  deny  that  Jesus  took  real  flesh  upon  himself, 
but  believed  his  body  to  be  spiritual. 

Euthymius  charges  the  Bogomils  with  rejecting  pretty 
much  everything  believed  by  other  Christians.  They  did 
not  accept  the  Mosaic  wrtings  as  part  of  the  word  of 
God,  though  they  did  accept  the  Psalms  and  New  Testa- 
ment; they  rejected  water-baptism,  like  the  modern 
Quakers ;  they  declared  the  Lord's  Supper  to  be  the  sacri- 
fice of  demons,  and  would  have  none  of  it ;  they  thought 
churches  the  dwelling-places  of  demons,  and  the  worship 
of  the  images  in  them  to  be  mere  idolatry ;  the  fathers  of 
the  church  they  declared  to  be  the  false  prophets  against 
whom  Jesus  gave  warning ;  they  forbade  marriage  and  the 
eating  of  flesh,  and  fasted  thrice  a  week. 

Some  of  these  charges  clearly  appear  to  be  misap- 
prehensions. Trine-immersion,  the  doctrine  of  baptismal 
regeneration  and  infant  baptism,  were  taught  by  the 
Catholic  Church.  Denial  of  these  may  have  been  taken 
by  prejudiced  prelates  to  be  denial  of  baptism  itself. 
There  is  evidence  that  the  Bogomils  practised  the  single 
immersion  of  adult  believers.  No  doubt  they  did  call  the 
mass  "  the  sacrifice  of  demons,"  or  something  to  that 
effect ;  but  only  to  a  bigoted  and  ignorant  Catholic  would 
that  imply  rejection  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  scripturally 
celebrated. 

The  chief  peculiarity  of  the  Bogomils  is  said  to  have 
been  the  division  of  their  members  into  two  classes :  the 


78  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

credentes,  or  believers,  and  the  pcrfccti,  or  pure  ones — a 
division  characteristic  of  Manichxan  sects  generally,  as 
well  as  corresponding  to  the  "  novices  "  and  "  adepts  " 
of  many  orders  and  societies.  Before  admission  among 
the  pcrfecti  one  must  have  passed  a  period  of  probation 
and  received  the  consolamentum,  or  rite  of  initiation,  by 
the  laying  on  of  hands.  The  pcrfccti  were  celibates — 
women  were  admitted  to  this  rank — and  lived  an  ascetic 
life,  devoting  themselves  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
and  charitable  works.  It  does  not  appear  that  mar- 
riage was  forbdden  to  the  crcdcntcs.  The  pcrfccti  re- 
ceived the  title  of  "  elders,"  and  were  preachers  to  and 
pastors  of  the  congregations,  as  well  as  missionaries  and 
evangelists.  There  was  a  total  absence  of  a  hierarchy 
among  them.  It  is  charged  against  them  that  they  held 
the  pcrfccti  to  be  above  the  law  and  incapable  of  sin — 
the  same  error  of  antinomianism  into  which  some 
Calvinists,  Baptists  among  them,  fell  later. 

The  most  prominent  man  among  the  Bogomils  toward 
the  close  of  the  eleventh  century  was  a  venerable  phy- 
sician named  Basil.  He  is  sometimes  described  as  their 
"  bishop  " ;  he  was  really  one  of  the  "  elders  "  or  pcrfccti, 
and  his  preeminence  was  due  to  his  learning  and  char- 
acter, not  to  his  official  rank.  The  emperor  Alexander 
Comnenus  I.,  was  a  bitter  persecutor.  He  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  lay  a  trap  for  Basil  by  inviting  him  to  the  imperial 
table  and  cabinet,  and  by  pretending  a  deep  interest  in 
the  Bogomil's  views  drew  from  his  victim  a  full  expo- 
sition of  them.  A  scribe  hidden  behind  tapestries  took 
it  all  down,  and  then  the  perfidious  emperor  arrested  his 
venerable  guest  and  put  him  in  prison.  Basil  was  con- 
demned and  burned  at  the  stake,  to  the  last  steadfast  in 
his  faith  and  meeting  his  cruel  death  with  unfaltering 
trust  in  Christ.  No  charge  was  or  could  be  brought 
against  him,  but  his  "  heresy."     To  the  elevation  of  his 


I 


THE   ECLIPSE  OF  EVANGELICAL  CHRISTIANITY  79 

character  and  his  Hfe  of  good  works  even  the  daughter 
of  the  emperor,  who  recorded  her  father's  shame,  bore 
unwilhng  witness.  We  learn  from  her  also  that  many- 
families  of  the  highest  rank  had  embraced  the  Bogomil 
doctrines.  At  the  height  of  their  prosperity  the  cre- 
dentcs  are  said  to  have  numbered  two  millions,  and  the 
pcrfccti  perhaps  four  thousand. 

Through  the  early  medieval  times,  therefore,  down 
to  the  eleventh  century,  we  find  evangelical  Christianity 
suppressed  with  virtual  completeness  throughout  Europe. 
Even  those  forms  of  Christianity  that  may,  in  comparison 
with  Rome,  be  called  evangelical  are  far  from  bearing 
a  close  resemblance  to  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the 
apostles.  No  other  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from  a 
careful  and  impartial  survey  of  all  the  evidence. 


CHAPTER   VII 

FOREGLEAMS  OF  THE  DAWN 

WHEN  Hildebrand  became  Pope  Gregory  VII.,  in 
the  eleventh  century,  the  papacy  reached  a 
height  of  pretensions  and  power  of  which  the  earHer 
pontiffs  had  scarcely  dreamed.  His  predecessors  had 
claimed  supremacy  in  the  church ;  it  remained  for  him 
to  claim  universal  supremacy,  not  merely  the  guidance 
of  all  believers  in  spiritual  affairs,  but  a  moral  super- 
intendence of  the  nations.  Temporal  interests  are  con- 
fessedly inferior  to  spiritual ;  in  claiming  spiritual  su- 
premacy, therefore,  Hildebrand  held  that  supremacy  in 
temporal  affairs  was  included.  Adopting  the  principles 
of  feudalism,  the  papacy  henceforth  declared  that  all 
princes  and  monarchs  held  their  dominions  as  feofs  of 
the  church.  This  theory  the  papacy  has  never  since  dis- 
claimed. It  is  a  right  in  abeyance,  and  it  will  be  revived 
and  reasserted  whenever  in  the  future  a  pope  judges 
himself  to  be  able  to  enforce  the  claim.  Claims  so  ex- 
travagant produced  revolts,  both  political  and  religious; 
some  of  these  revolts  partook  of  both  characters  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  is  difficult  to  class  them.  They  failed, 
it  is  true,  for  the  times  were  not  yet  ripe  for  thorough 
reformation  of  the  Church  or  State,  but  they  were  fore- 
gleams  of  the  dawn  that  was  to  break  over  Europe  in  the 
sixteenth  century. 

About  the  year  1130  a  young  priest  began  to  attract 

much  attention  by  his  preaching  in  Brescia,  one  of  the 

free  cities  of  Northern  Italy,  and  soon  all  Lombardy  was 

stirred.     He  was  a  native  of  that  city,  and  we  first  hear 

80 


FOREGLEAMS    OF    THE    DAWN  8l 

of  him  as  a  lector  in  the  church  there.  Then  he  studied 
in  Paris  under  Abelard,  who  was  already  more  than 
suspected  of  heresy,  and  not  without  reason.  The  Ro- 
man Church  was  not  unjust,  from  its  own  point  of 
view,  in  its  subsequent  condemnation  of  Abelard ;  for, 
whether  he  were  himself  in  strictness  a  heretic,  he  was 
certainly  the  cause  of  heresy  in  others.  The  most  seri- 
ous revolts  of  the  twelfth  century  against  the  church 
are  directly  traceable  to  his  lecture  room. 

Abelard's  instructions  had  opened  Arnold's  eyes, 
broadened  his  mind,  and  sent  him  to  the  Scriptures.  The 
result  was  a  deepening  of  his  spiritual  life,  and  disgust 
with  the  corrupt  state  of  the  church  in  Italy.  He  became 
a  reformer,  and  with  fiery  eloquence  exhorted  men  to  re- 
pent and  live  according  to  the  precepts  of  Christ.  He 
boldly  attacked  and  unsparingly  denounced  the  vices  of 
the  clergy,  their  luxury  and  debauchery.  From  study  of 
the  Scriptures  he  had  imbibed  the  notion  of  a  holy  and 
pure  church,  and  he  labored  incessantly  to  restore  the 
church  as  he  found  it  to  the  pattern  of  apostolic  times. 
This  was  the  foundation  of  all  his  teachings — the  ne- 
cessity of  a  spiritual  church,  composed  of  true  believers 
living  in  daily  conformity  to  the  teachings  of  Christ. 

This  was  closely  coupled  with  another  principle,  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  a  necessary  corollary  from  this  funda- 
mental teaching  of  the  Scriptures :  the  complete  separa- 
tion of  church  and  State.  The  root  of  the  evils  that 
beset  the  Church  Arnold  found  in  its  wealth ;  and  its 
wealth  was  the  result  of  an  unholy  alliance  with  the  civil 
power.  Therefore  he  demanded  that  the  clergy  of  his 
day  should  imitate  the  apostles — renounce  their  worldly 
possessions  and  privileges,  give  up  secular  business,  and 
set  all  men  an  example  of  holy  living  and  apostolic  sim- 
plicity. He  was  himself  self-denying  to  the  verge  of 
asceticism,  living  a  life  of  voluntary  poverty  and  celibacy. 


82  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

The  clergy,  he  taught,  should  not  depend  on  tithes,  but 
accept  for  their  support  the  voluntary  offerings  of  their 
people;  and  he  conformed  to  his  own  teaching. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Arnold  attacked  directly  either 
the  organization  or  the  doctrine  of  the  church,  at  least, 
during  this  period  of  his  life.  His  mind  was  severely 
practical.  Abelard  had  given  him  a  strong  spiritual  im- 
pulse, without  imparting  to  his  pupil  any  of  his  own 
genius  for  speculation.  Arnold  was  no  theologian,  but 
a  man  full  of  zeal  for  a  reformation  of  the  church  in 
its  life,  rather  than  in  its  doctrine  and  organization.  Ac- 
cordingly he  was  not  charged  with  heresy,  but  with  being 
a  disturber  of  the  church.  His  bishop  laid  the  matter  be- 
fore the  Second  Lateran  council  in  1139,  and  he  was  con- 
demned, banished  from  Brescia,  and  forbidden  to  preach. 
He  is  said  to  have  bound  himself  by  an  oath  to  obey, 
but  it  seems  certain  that  the  terms  were  limited,  for  he 
is  not  charged  with  breaking  it  in  what  he  afterward  did. 

Banished  from  Brescia,  Arnold  went  to  France  and 
joined  his  teacher,  Abelard,  then  at  the  height  of  his  con- 
troversy with  St.  Bernard.  He  zealously  defended  Abe- 
lard, and  shared  with  him  the  condemnation  of  the  synod 
of  Sens,  in  1140.  His  stay  in  France  was  but  a  few 
months ;  he  then  found  refuge  in  Switzerland,  but  Ber- 
nard pursued  him  from  place  to  place  with  the  implacable 
hatred  of  the  religious  zealot  who  is  also  a  good  man. 

Arnold  went  to  Rome  after  the  death  of  Pope  Inno- 
cent II.,  to  whom  (according  to  Bernard)  he  had  sworn 
submission,  and  about  1145  began  to  preach  there.  His 
views  had  meanwhile  undergone  a  great  alteration.  He 
still  preached  reform,  but  now  it  was  a  political  reform, 
not  a  spiritual.  This  may  have  been,  in  part,  because 
he  found  that  the  Romans  had  no  affinity  for  his  spiritual 
teachings ;  but  there  was  a  change  in  his  whole  spirit  and 
aim  that  can  only  partially  be  explained  in  this  way. 


^p^ 


Page  82 


Statue  of  Arnold 


FOREGLEAMS    OF    THE    DAWN  83 

In  his  view  the  State  should  be,  not  the  empire  at  that 
time  regarded  as  the  ideal  earthly  government,  but  a  pure 
republican  democracy.  Every  city,  he  taught,  should 
constitute  an  independent  State,  in  whose  government  no 
bishop  ought  to  have  the  right  to  interfere ;  the  church 
should  not  own  any  secular  dominion,  and  priests  should 
be  excluded  from  every  temporal  authority.  This  teach- 
ing differed  totally  from  the  then  prevailing  notion  of  a 
universal  sacerdotimn  and  imperium,  the  one  ruling 
spiritual  affairs,  the  other  temporal,  the  civil  ruler  receiv- 
ing his  authority  from  the  spiritual,  and  in  turn  protecting 
the  latter  with  his  sword  and  enforcing  its  decrees. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Arnold  the  Roman  people  de- 
nied the  pope's  supremacy  in  temporal  affairs,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  withdraw  from  the  city.  The  people,  and 
Arnold  himself,  cherished  wild  dreams  of  the  restoration 
of  ancient  splendor  and  power,  when  the  Roman  Senate 
and  people  should  again  rule  the  world.  Attempts  were 
made  to  realize  this  dream  of  a  new  republic,  but  it  was 
soon  rudely  shattered.  Pope  Adrian  IV.,  from  his  exile 
at  Orvieto,  aimed  a  blow  at  Arnold  and  his  nascent  re- 
public that  proved  fatal — he  laid  the  interdict  on  the  city 
and  put  the  leader  under  the  ban.  The  blow  was  all  the 
more  effective  in  that  nobody  could  charge  the  pope  with 
exceeding  his  spiritual  functions.  It  is  hard  for  us  to 
realize  in  this  day  what  the  interdict  meant  to  a  people 
who  still  believed  that  salvation  was  assured  only  in  the 
church,  by  means  of  sacraments  administered  by  a  duly 
qualified  priesthood.  The  doors  of  all  churches  were 
closed;  no  mass  was  said;  the  living  could  not  be  joined 
in  marriage  or  shriven  of  their  sins ;  the  dead  could  be 
buried  only  as  one  would  bury  a  dog,  with  no  priest  to 
say  a  prayer  for  him.  In  addition,  when  Arnold  was 
put  under  the  ban,  anybody  who  gave  him  shelter  or  food 
thereby  made  himself  liable  to  the  severest  censures  of  the 


84  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

church.  The  interdict  was  too  much  for  human  nature 
to  endure.  By  this  terrible  weapon,  when  all  other 
means  failed  them,  the  medieval  popes  again  and  again 
brought  the  proudest  monarchs  of  Europe  to  their  knees, 
to  sue  for  pardon  and  absolution. 

When  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa  was  per- 
suaded by  the  pope  to  undertake  his  cause  and  entered 
Italy,  he  found  it  easy  to  procure  Arnold's  expulsion 
from  Rome.  The  fallen  leader  received  protection  for  a 
time  among  the  nobility,  but  he  was  finally  delivered  up 
to  the  pope,  and  the  prefect  of  Rome  hanged  him, 
burned  his  body  and  scattered  the  ashes  in  the  Tiber. 
Thus  perished  one  of  Italy's  noblest  martyrs,  and  with 
his  death  ended  the  first  struggle  for  reform  of  the 
church. 

Arnold  has  been  claimed  as  a  Baptist ;  but  he  is  also 
claimed  by  others  as  belonging  to  them — indeed,  two  of 
his  latest  biographers  are  Roman  Catholics,  who  hold 
that  he  taught  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  Catholic  doc- 
trine of  his  day,  and  was  never  condemned  as  a  heretic. 
His  supposed  affinity  with  Baptists  has  little  evidence  in 
its  favor  save  the  statement  made  by  Otto  of  Freisingen, 
a  contemporary  historian,  "  He  is  said  to  have  had  un- 
sound notions  (non  sane  dicitur  scnsissc)  regarding  the 
sacrament  of  the  altar  and  the  baptism  of  children." 
This  is  given  as  a  report  merely ;  Bishop  Otto,  who  says 
everything  unfavorable  about  Arnold  that  he  can  de- 
vise, does  not  venture  to  state  this  positively.  The  only 
other  scrap  of  evidence  that  seems  to  connect  him  with 
Baptists  is  the  statement,  apparently  handed  on  from 
writer  to  writer  without  re-investigation,  that  he  was 
condemned  by  the  Lateran  Council  for  his  rejection  of 
infant  baptism.  The  Second  Lateran  Council  (1139) 
condemned  all  who  rejected  "  the  sacrament  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  the  Lord,  the  baptism  of  children,  priest- 


FOREGLEAMS    OF    THE    DAWN  85 

hood  and  other  ecclesiastical  orders,  and  the  bonds  of 
lawful  marriage,"  but  nobody  is  mentioned  by  name. 
Some  historians  infer  that  this  was  a  condemnation  of 
Arnold,  but  that  begs  the  very  question  at  issue,  namely, 
how  many  and  which  of  these  errors  he  taught. 

Nobody  has  summed  up  the  work  of  Arnold,  and  in- 
dicated its  significance,  with  more  eloquence  and  insight 
than  Bishop  Hurst : 

To  study  the  career  of  Arnold  and  its  unhappy  end  one 
would  conclude  that  it  was  simply  a  revolutionary  episode  in  the 
turbulent  age  in  which  he  lived.  But  we  must  take  a  broader 
view.  He  greatly  weakened  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  the 
strength  of  the  papacy.  He  proved  that  it  was  possible  for  one 
man,  endowed  with  energy,  to  overthrow,  at  least  for  a  time,  the 
temporal  sovereignty  of  popes,  introduce  a  new  political  hfe  in 
Rome  itself,  and  mass  the  people  to  support  his  views.  His  most 
bitter  enemies  could  not  find  any  flaw  in  his  moral  character. 
His  purity  of  life  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  gospel  which 
he  preached.  His  personal  worth,  and  the  temporary  changes 
which  he  wrought,  were  the  great  forces  which  continued  to 
work  long  after  his  martyrdom.  In  every  later  effort  for  re- 
form, and  even  in  the  Reformation  in  Germany  and  other  coun- 
tries, the  name  of  Arnold  of  Brescia  was  a  mighty  factor  in  aid- 
ing towards  the  breaking  of  the  old  bonds.  Even  in  these  latest 
times  it  has  its  historical  value,  for  in  the  struggle  of  the  Prot- 
estantism of  New  Italy  for  mastery  over  the  thought  of  the 
people,  that  name  is  a  comfort  to  all  who  are  endeavoring  to 
bring  in  the  new  and  better  day,  from  the  Alps  down  to  Sicily.^ 

It  was  three  centuries  before  Italy  saw  another  serious 
attempt  to  purify  the  church,  and  in  the  meantime  the 
papacy  had  lost  much  of  its  political  power  and  descended 
to  the  lowest  depths  of  degradation.  All  that  ancient 
historians  have  related  of  the  horrible  crimes  of  Nero 
and  other  emperors  of  Rome,  and  much  besides,  may 
be  truthfully  told  of  Alexander  VI.,  the  father  of  Caesar 
and  Lucretia  Borgia.    His  wickedness  was  colossal,  sim- 

'"  Short  History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  p.   152, 


86  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

ony  and  murder  being  the  least  of  his  sins,  and  the  worst 
unnamable.  Under  him  and  his  immediate  predecessors 
the  corruption  of  the  church  became  frightful ;  if  there 
were  not  the  fullest  proof  of  the  facts  they  would  be 
incredible.  A  man  who  had  murdered  his  two  daughters 
was  duly  condemned  to  death,  but  on  the  very  morning  of 
his  execution  was  set  at  liberty  for  the  payment  of  eight 
hundred  ducats.  A  high  official  of  the  papal  court  calmly 
remarked :  "  God  willeth  not  the  death  of  a  sinner,  but 
that  he  shall  pay  and  live."  In  the  monasteries,  what 
could  be  expected  but  notorious  and  almost  universal  un- 
faithfulness to  their  vows  of  poverty  and  chastity? 
Among  the  secular  clergy  the  case  was  little  better.  Of 
course  there  were  devout  and  faithful  souls  in  the  midst 
of  all  this  wickedness,  as  there  have  been  in  every  age 
of  the  church,  but  the  fifteenth  century  was  a  sink  of 
corruption.  The  moral  tone  of  Christendom  was  never 
lower.  The  rulers  were  despotic,  cruel,  oppressive ;  the 
people  were  brutally  selfish ;  both  were  dissolute  and 
knavish.  Such  is  the  picture  of  the  times  drawn  by  con- 
temporary writers,  loyal  sons  of  the  church.  Nothing 
but  a  root-and-branch  reformation  could  save  church 
and  society  from  utter  dissolution.  Was  such  a  reforma- 
tion— revolution  rather — possible?  If  so,  could  it  proceed 
from  within? 

About  the  time  Columbus  was  setting  forth  on  his  first 
voyage  to  America  the  people  of  Florence  discovered  that 
a  young  Dominican  monk  in  their  city  was  one  of  the 
great  preachers  of  the  age.  Girolamo  Savonarola  was 
born  in  Ferrara  in  1452,  of  noble  descent,  and  was 
destined  by  his  parents  for  the  profession  of  medicine. 
In  his  twenty-third  year,  becoming  greatly  anxious  about 
his  soul,  he  forsook  his  home  and  entered  a  Dominican 
monastery — an  experience  almost  exactly  duplicated  by 
Luther  a  generation  later.     He  became  an  ardent  student 


FOREGLEAMS    OF    THE    DAWN  87 

of  the  Scriptures,  of  which  he  is  said  to  have  committed 
nearly  the  whole  to  memory.  He  was  a  man  of  some- 
what gloomy,  melancholy  nature,  given  to  fasts  and 
vigils,  ascetic  in  life,  and  in  manner  like  one  of  the  old 
prophets.  When  he  first  began  to  preach  his  success  was 
meager,  but  suddenly  at  Brescia  he  preached  as  if  a 
new  inspiration  had  come  upon  him ;  and  from  the  time 
he  went  to  Florence  (1490)  he  attracted  multitudes.  His' 
favorite  theme  was  the  exposition  of  the  apocalypse,  and 
in  that  book  he  found  ample  materials  for  heart-searching 
sermons,  laden  with  fierce  denunciations  of  the  sins  of 
the  age.  Savonarola  began,  as  so  many  had  begun  be- 
fore him,  as  Luther  was  to  begin  later,  with  an  idea 
simply  of  the  moral  regeneration  of  the  church.  He  im- 
agined that  the  rottenness  of  the  church  and  society  about 
him  could  be  cured  by  preaching,  that  the  mere  proclama- 
tion of  the  truth  was  enough.  He  soon  came  to  see, 
however,  that  the  evils  he  denounced  were  inseparably 
bound  up  with  the  political  system  of  his  age,  and  his 
efforts  at  reformation  took  a  political  turn. 

For  a  time  the  eloquence  of  Savonarola  seemed  to 
carry  all  before  it.  Lorenzo  di  Medici  died,  and  his  in- 
competent son,  Pietro,  was  soon  driven  from  the  city. 
The  government  was  reorganized  on  a  theocratic  basis, 
with  Savonarola  as  the  vicegerent  of  God.  The  golden 
age  appeared  to  have  returned  to  Florence,  and,  as  a 
contemporary  writer  said,  "the  people  seemed  to  have 
become  fools  from  mere  love  of  Christ."  Emboldened 
by  his  success,  Savonarola  attacked  the  papacy,  in  which 
he  rightly  saw  the  chief  source  of  the  evils  of  the  age. 
Alexander  VL  sought  to  buy  his  silence  with  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Florence  and  a  cardinal's  hat,  and  failed. 
Then  the  pope  accepted  the  issue  Savonarola  had  forced 
upon  him,  and  it  became  a  life  and  death  struggle 
between  these  two. 


88  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Alexander  first  summoned  the  daring  preacher  to 
Rome  to  answer  for  his  alleged  errors,  but  he  was  not 
silly  enough  to  comply.  He  was  then  forbidden  to 
preach  for  a  time,  and  respected  the  prohibition  until  it 
was  removed.  The  old  jealousy  between  the  Franciscans 
and  Dominicans,  however,  broke  out  afresh,  and  this 
quarrel  was  skilfully  used  by  the  pope  to  cause  Savo- 
narola's downfall.  Alexander  excommunicated  his  an- 
tagonist in  May,  1497,  ^^^  ^^^^^  threatened  to  lay  the 
interdict  upon  the  city  if  it  did  not  surrender  its  favorite 
preacher.  But  Florence  stood  by  him,  and  might  have 
continued  to  do  so,  though  it  was  wavering,  had  it  not 
been  for  an  error  of  Savonarola's  that  was  fatal  to  his 
cause.  A  Franciscan  preacher  denounced  him  as  a  here- 
tic, and  challenged  the  reformer  to  undergo  with  him  the 
ordeal  by  fire.  Savonarola  did  not  approve  of  the  or- 
deal, and  refused  it  for  himself,  but  the  pressure  of  opin- 
ion induced  him  to  permit  one  of  his  followers  to  accept 
the  challenge.  It  was  a  fatal  move.  The  pyres  were 
lighted,  and  all  Florence  had  assembled  to  see  the  trial. 
The  Franciscans  managed  to  get  up  a  bitter  quarrel  with 
the  Dominicans  over  the  question  whether  the  cross  or 
the  host  was  to  be  carried  through  the  flames ;  and  while 
they  contended  a  rainstorm  came  on  and  put  out  the 
fires.  The  people,  disappointed  of  their  expected  spec- 
tacle, with  the  usual  fickleness  of  the  mob,  visited  all  their 
displeasure  upon  Savonarola,  and  from  that  day  his  in- 
fluence declined  so  rapidly  that  he  soon  fell  into  the 
power  of  Alexander's  agents.  Under  torture  he  was 
said  to  have  confessed  everything  that  his  enemies  de- 
sired, but  the  reports  are  so  garbled  as  to  be  utterly  un- 
worthy of  trust ;  and  it  is  certain  that  afterward  he  re- 
tracted all  that  he  had  confessed.  Not  even  torture  and 
garbling  could  make  him  out  a  heretic  or  guilty  of  any 
capital  offense,  and  he  was  finally  condemned  in  defiance 


NYMl^  FERR  ARIENSS^/'DKO- 
1SSI*PR0PHET/$>EFFIG1  L:S<'^ 


Page 


Savonarola 


FOREGLEAMS    OF    THE    DAWN  89 

of  both  law  and  justice.  He  was  first  hanged  and  then 
burned,  with  two  of  his  chief  adherents,  "  in  order  that," 
so  ran  the  sentence,  "  their  souls  may  be  entirely  sep- 
arated from  their  bodies."  The  sentence  was  duly  exe- 
cuted, in  the  presence  of  a  vast  multitude.  Savonarola 
bore  himself  with  composure  and  fortitude,  and  his  last 
words  were,  "  O  Florence,  what  hast  thou  done  to-day?  " 
What,  indeed !  Nothing  but  postpone  for  almost  four 
centuries  Italy's  deliverance  from  the  papal  yoke. 

Few  men  have  been  more  variously  estimated  than 
Savonarola.  By  one  party  he  has  been  represented  as 
an  inspired  prophet,  a  saint,  a  miracle-worker ;  by  another 
as  ambitious,  fanatical,  even  hypocritical.  By  one  he  is 
called  a  patriot,  by  another  a  demagogue.  He  was  not 
a  heretic ;  to  the  last  he  believed  in  all  the  dogmas  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  Rome  never  condemned  his 
teachings  as  heresy,  and  though  he  has  not  yet  been 
canonized,  there  is  no  obstacle  to  his  canonization  at  any 
time,  as  his  admirers  in  the  church,  in  increasing  num- 
bers, demand.  He  resisted  the  pope  politically,  but  ac- 
knowledged him  as  the  head  of  the  church.  Neverthe- 
less, he  had  adopted  principles  that,  if  they  had  been 
given  an  opportunity  to  work  themselves  out,  would  have 
compelled  his  separation  from  Rome.  The  pope  was 
wiser  in  his  generation  than  the  reformer. 

The  next  serious  revolt  against  the  papal  supremacy 
was  in  Bohemia.  Early  in  the  fifteenth  century,  that 
kingdom  was  greatly  stirred  by  the  preaching  of  a  Czech 
scholar.  John  Hus  (so  he  wrote  the  name,  it  being  an 
abbreviation  of  Hussinetz)  was  educated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Prag,  and  after  taking  his  Master's  degree  in 
1396,  began  to  lecture,  with  such  success  that  in  1401 
he  was  made  dean  of  the  philosophical  faculty,  and  in 
1403  rector  of  the  university.  In  1402  he  was  also  made 
pastor  of  the  Bethlehem  Chapel,  where  he  preached  in 


90  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

the  Czech  language.  He  was  a  dihgent  student  of  the 
Scriptures,  but  his  theology  was  not  mainly  derived  from 
that  source — or,  rather,  the  writings  of  another  had  first 
opened  his  eyes  to  the  meaning  of  Scripture. 

In  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  a  professor  at 
Oxford  had  attracted  much  attention  by  the  boldness  and 
novelty  of  his  teaching.  John  Wiclif  was  a  Protestant 
before  Protestantism,  condemning  and  opposing  in  his 
writings  nearly  every  distinctive  doctrine  of  Rome — a 
man  far  more  radical  than  Luther,  though  less  violent 
in  his  manner  of  utterance.  Among  his  plain  teachings, 
all  of  which  proceeded  from  the  root-principle  of  the  su- 
preme authority  of  the  Scriptures,  were  these:  No  writ- 
ing, not  even  a  papal  decree,  has  any  authority,  save  as 
it  is  founded  on  the  Scriptures ;  transubstantiation  is  not 
taught  in  the  Bible,  but  by  the  popes ;  in  the  primitive 
church  there  were  but  two  orders  in  the  ministry,  bishops 
and  deacons ;  there  is  not  good  scriptural  warrant  for 
confirmation  and  extreme  unction ;  the  clergy  should  not 
interfere  in  civil  affairs.  In  addition  to  this  already  long 
list  of  heresies,  Wiclif  opposed  the  doctrine  of  indul- 
gences, the  mendicant  orders  and  monks  of  all  sorts,  the 
use  of  images  and  pictures  in  churches,  canonization,  pil- 
grimages, auricular  confession,  and  celibacy  of  the 
clergy !  But  though  he  disowned  and  combated  every 
distinctive  feature  in  the  Roman  Church  of  his  day, 
Wiclif  was  not  condemned,  and  at  length  died  peace- 
fully in  his  bed.  This  was  due  partly  to  his  distance 
from  Rome,  and  partly  to  the  powerful  protection  he  re- 
ceived from  English  kings  and  nobles.  His  followers 
(Lollards)  were  severely  persecuted,  but  not  extermi- 
nated, and  his  teachings  prepared  England  for  a  subse- 
quent reformation.  Especially  did  his  translation  of  the 
Scriptures,  which  was  widely  circulated,  leave  an  indelible 
impression  on  the  English  mind  and  character. 


FOREGLEAMS    OF    THE    DAWN  9I 

Hus  adopted  nearly  all  of  Wiclif's  views,  and  may 
fairly  be  called  the  disciple  and  follower  of  the  great 
English  reformer.  It  need  not  surprise  us  that  Wiclif's 
doctrines  thus  found  an  acceptance  in  Bohemia  hardly 
obtained  in  England.  His  writings  were  chiefly  in  Latin, 
then  the  common  language  of  educated  men  everywhere ; 
so  that  ideas  then  passed  from  England  to  Bohemia  far 
more  easily  than  they  do  in  the  twentieth  century.  It 
was,  moreover,  the  custom  of  medieval  students  to  mi- 
grate from  university  to  university,  in  order  to  hear  some 
renowned  lecturer;  and  students  from  Oxford  brought 
Wiclif's  writings  to  Prag  and  made  them  known  to  Hus. 
But  though  a  disciple,  Hus  was  more  than  a  mere  echo  of 
Wiclif.  He  was  content  to  follow  where  Wiclif  led  the 
vvay — possibly  because  Wiclif's  was  the  stronger,  more 
independent,  more  original  mind — but  he  had  gifts  of  elo- 
quence that  his  master  seems  never  to  have  possessed. 
Wiclif  was  the  scholar,  the  teacher,  the  retiring  thinker, 
while  Hus  was  not  merely  scholar  and  teacher,  but 
apostle. 

At  first  Hus  undoubtedly  believed  in  the  possibility  of 
reforming  the  church  from  within.  He  had  apparently 
the  confidence  of  his  ecclesiastical  superiors,  and  hoped 
to  accomplish  great  things.  Not  only  did  he  industri- 
ously spread  abroad  the  doctrines  of  Wiclif,  but  as  a  syn- 
odical  preacher  he  exposed  and  denounced  the  sins  of  the 
clergy  with  great  faithfulness.  Appointed  to  investigate 
some  of  the  alleged  miracles  of  the  church,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  pronounce  them  spurious — and  he  bade  all 
believers  cease  looking  for  signs  and  miracles  and  search 
the  Scriptures.  In  1409,  the  pope  forbade  the  use  of 
Wiclif's  writings,  which  precipitated  a  conflict  between 
Hus  and  his  archbishop,  the  latter  burning  Wiclif's  books 
wherever  he  could  find  them,  and  Hus  continuing  to 
preach  with  increasing  boldness.     In  March,    141 1,  he 


92  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

was  excommunicated  by  the  archbishop  and  Prag  was 
laid  under  the  interdict,  but  Hus  had  the  university  and 
the  city  with  him  so  completely  that  no  attention  was 
paid  to  the  sentences.  Hus  and  his  sympathizers  now 
went  much  further;  they  declared  that  neither  pope  nor 
bishop  has  the  right  to  draw  the  sword ;  that  indulgences 
are  worthless,  since  not  money  but  true  repentance  is  the 
condition  of  forgiveness ;  that  the  doctrine  of  the  pope's 
infallibility  is  blasphemous. 

This  was  one  of  the  questions  that  the  Council  of 
Constance  was  expected  to  decide,  and  Hus  had  agreed 
to  submit  himself  and  his  teachings  to  the  decision  of  a 
general  council.  When  the  body  met,  in  November, 
1414,  great  things  in  the  way  of  reform  were  expected 
from  it,  and  at  first  it  seemed  likely  to  realize  at  least  a 
part  of  the  expectations.  Pope  John  XXHL,  one  of  the 
worst  scoundrels  that  ever  disgraced  the  See  of  Rome — 
and  that  is  saying  much — was  deposed,  and  committees 
were  considering  carefully  liberal  propositions  concern- 
ing the  improvement  of  the  church  constitution,  the  ref- 
ormation of  abuses  and  extortions,  and  the  eradication 
of  simony.  The  future  of  the  church  turned  on  one 
point ;  whether  the  reformation  or  the  election  of  a  pope 
should  first  be  set  about.  The  great  mistake  was  made 
of  electing  a  pope  first,  and  when  Martin  V.  found  him- 
self in  the  papal  chair,  he  was  astute  enough  to  frustrate 
all  attempts  at  reform  and  bring  the  council  to  a  close 
with  nothing  accomplished.  The  abuses  for  which  re- 
form was  demanded  were  the  very  sources  from  which 
pope  and  cardinals  drew  the  greater  part  of  their  reve- 
nues ;  and  it  was  absurd  to  expect  reform  under  such 
circumstances  if  they  were  able  to  prevent  it.  The  sequel 
proved  that  they  were  able. 

One  of  the  things  to  which  the  Council  of  Constance 
speedily    devoted    its    attention    was    the    agitation    in 


FOREGLEAMS    OF    THE    DAWN  93 

Bohemia,  which  had  now  become  a  matter  of  European 
notoriety.  Hus  had  never  denied,  but  rather  affirmed,  the 
authority  of  an  ecumenical  council.  King  Sigismund,  of 
Hungary  (who  was  also  the  emperor),  summoned  Hus  to 
appear  before  the  council  and  gave  the  reformer  a  safe 
conduct.  In  June,  141 5,  he  had  his  first  public  hearing, 
and  two  other  hearings  followed ;  in  all  of  them  he  stood 
manfully  by  his  teachings  and  defended  them  as  in  ac- 
cord with  Scripture.  During  the  rest  of  the  month  fre- 
quent attempts  were  made  to  induce  him  to  retract,  but 
he  stood  firmly  by  his  faith.  On  July  6th  condemnation 
was  finally  pronounced,  and  it  is  said  that,  on  this  oc- 
casion, the  emperor  had  the  grace  actually  to  blush  when 
reminded  of  the  safe  conduct  he  had  given.  Hus  was 
then  publicly  degraded  from  the  priesthood  with  every 
mark  of  ignominy,  and  delivered,  with  Rome's  customary 
hypocrisy,  to  the  civil  power  for  execution.  Thus  the 
church  could  say  that  she  never  put  heretics  to  death ! 
When  being  tied  to  the  stake  he  preached  and  exhorted 
until  the  fire  was  kindled,  when  he  began  singing  with  a 
loud  voice,  "  Jesus,  Son  of  the  living  God,  have  mercy  on 
me."  This  he  continued  until  his  voice  was  stifled  by 
smoke  and  flame,  but  his  lips  were  seen  to  move  for  a 
long  time,  as  in  prayer.  When  his  body  was  consumed, 
the  ashes  were  cast  into  the  Rhine,  that  the  earth  might 
no  more  be  polluted  by  him. 

Never  was  it  more  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs  is  in  the  seed  of  the  church.  The  legiti- 
mate development  of  Hus'  teachings  was  not  through  the 
so-called  Hussites,  but  through  the  Unitas  Fratum,  an- 
ciently known  as  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  and  in  later 
times  as  IMoravians.  Their  organization  began  in  a  se- 
cluded nook  in  Bohemia  in  1457.  The  principles  of  Hus 
were  avowed  in  their  confessions,  and  their  growth  was 
rapid.     By  the  beginning  of  the  Lutheran  Reformation 


94  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

they  numbered  four  hundred  parishes,  with  two  hundred 
thousand  members,  but  by  persecution  and  absorption  they 
almost  disappeared.  A  remnant,  however,  was  preserved, 
a  "  hidden  seed,"  and  the  order  of  bishops,  originally  de- 
rived from  the  Waldensians,  was  continued  in  secret  but 
regular  succession.  Finally  the  survivors  settled,  in  1722, 
and  the  following  seven  years,  on  the  estate  of  Count 
Zinzendorf,  in  Saxony,  and  there  built  a  town  called 
Herrnhut  ("watch  of  the  Lord").  March  13,  1735, 
David  Nitschmann  was  consecrated  the  first  bishop  of 
this  revived  Moravian  Church,  and  a  new  era  in  its  his- 
tory began.  Few  things  in  the  history  of  Christianity  are 
more  full  of  romance  and  of  encouragement  to  faith  than 
this  story  of  the  Moravians,  their  providential  preserva- 
tion for  over  a  century,  after  their  existence  was  sup- 
posed to  be  ended,  and  their  almost  miraculous  emergence 
into  a  new  life,  to  become  the  leaders  of  Christendom  in 
missionary  enterprise. 

How  came  it  about  that  not  only  these  attempts  at 
reform,  but  others  that  are  still  to  be  recounted,  failed? — 
failed  in  spite  of  being  founded  on  the  Scriptures  and 
having  the  favor  of  the  people.  To  tell  that  story  is  the 
object  of  the  next  chapter. 


Page  94 


Savonarola 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE    WRATH    OF    THE    DRAGON 

UNTIL  Christianity  conquered  the  Caesars  and  be- 
came the  reHgion  of  the  Roman  State,  it  had 
been  often  persecuted,  but  never  a  persecutor.  As  if  to 
show  that  this  was  merely  because  it  had  lacked  the 
power,  as  if  to  prove  that  in  this  respect  the  religion  of 
the  Christ  was  no  better  than  the  religions  of  the  gods 
that  it  displaced,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  almost  im- 
mediately began  to  persecute,  thereby  affording  a  con- 
vincing demonstration  that  it  was  neither  catholic  nor 
holy.  Indeed,  persecution  was  an  inevitable  consequence 
of  the  union  of  Church  and  State  under  Constantine ;  no 
other  result  could  reasonably  have  been  looked  for,  with 
the  confusion  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  rights  that 
followed  the  promotion  of  Christianity  to  be  a  State 
religion. 

Let  us  strive  to  be  just  to  Constantine,  while  true  to 
the  facts  of  history.  Let  us  remember  that  he  was  of 
heathen  birth  and  training;  that  he  was  never  a  Christian, 
in  any  proper  sense  of  the  term ;  that  he  delayed  his 
baptism  until  his  death-bed,  in  the  vain  hope  of  thus  wash- 
ing away  all  his  sins  at  one  fell  swoop,  and  entering  the 
new  life  regenerate  and  holy ;  that  during  his  lifetime  he 
never  quite  learned  the  difference  between  Christianity 
and  heathenism,  or  that  there  was  any  fundamental  differ- 
ence. How,  indeed,  should  he  suspect  such  a  thing,  in 
view  of  the  conduct  and  doctrines  of  the  churchmen  of 
his  day?  Let  us  remember,  furthermore,  that  as  Im- 
perator  Constantine  was  Pontifex  Maximus  of  the  old 
95 


96  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

religion,  and  that  he  naturally  imported  into  his 
newly  professed  faith  this  same  idea  of  imperial  headship. 

And  finally,  let  us  take  his  point  of  view.  Constantine 
was  not  a  religious  man,  but  he  was  a  statesman,  the 
greatest  of  the  Caesars  after  the  greater  Julius.  He  saw 
in  Christianity  a  marvelous  force  of  conviction  that  had 
made  it  triumph  over  the  most  cruel  and  persistent  perse- 
cutions. He  saw  in  the  church,  spread  throughout  the 
Roman  empire,  the  greatest  unifying  agency  of  his  day, 
a  society  of  men  bound  together  in  a  solidarity  to  which 
no  other  institution  could  compare.  Upon  his  mind 
broke  the  truth  that  here  he  had  an  instrument  ready 
to  his  hand  by  which  he  might  consolidate  his  empire  as 
no  predecessor  had  been  able  to  do — that  the  civil  ma- 
chinery might  be  duplicated  by  the  ecclesiastical  in  every 
province  and  town  of  his  domains.  A  beautiful  dream, 
do  you  say  ?  But  Constantine  made  it  real,  and  by  doing 
it  proved  himself  one  of  the  great  creative  statesmen 
of  the  world — a  man  who  ranks  with  Caesar  and 
Charlemagne  and  Napoleon. 

But  it  was  essential  to  the  realization  of  this  dream 
that  the  church  should  remain  a  unit.  Heresy  and 
schism  could  not  be  tolerated,  and  accordingly  Constan- 
tine did  not  tolerate  them.  He  persecuted,  not  as  a 
bigot,  but  as  a  ruler;  not  for  religious,  but  for  civil  rea- 
sons. At  first  he  personally  inclined  towards  Arius  and 
his  followers,  but  he  saw  that  the  orthodox  doctrine 
would  finally  prevail  in  the  church.  He  had  no  narrow 
prejudices  about  such  matters — orthodoxy  and  heresy 
were  all  one  to  him — so  he  at  once  became  the  supporter 
of  orthodoxy  and  threw  the  whole  weight  of  the  imperial 
power  into  the  scale  at  the  Council  of  Nice  to  secure  a 
condemnation  of  Arianism  and  a  definition  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  as  the  only  orthodox  Christian  teaching. 
He   was   successful,   and  then   set  himself  the   task   of 


THE    WRATH    OF    THE   DRAGON  97 

persecuting  the  Arians  out  of  existence ;  and  though  some 
of  his  successors  in  part  undid  his  work,  his  policy  was 
crowned  with  ultimate  success,  a  century  or  more  after 
his  death. 

Persecution  therefore  was  introduced  into  the  church 
of  Christ  by  a  man  who  seems  in  reality  to  have  been  a 
heathen,  in  accordance  with  a  heathen  theory  of  imperial 
functions,  and  for  purposes  of  State.  The  Holy  Cath- 
olic Church  did  not  scruple  to  profit  by  the  policy  of 
Constantine  and  even  to  give  him  sly  encouragement, 
but  it  did  not  at  first  dogmatically  defend  persecution. 
Indeed,  the  reputable  Fathers  of  the  Nicene  Church 
shrank  from  the  idea  that  one  Christian  should  persecute 
another.  So  late  as  385,  when  the  Spanish  bishop  Pris- 
cillian  and  six  of  his  adherents  (accused  of  Manichaeism) 
were  tortured  and  beheaded  at  the  instigation  of  Ithacus, 
another  bishop,  Ambrose  of  Alilan  and  Martin  of  Tours 
made  a  memorable  protest  against  this  perfidious  act  and 
broke  off  all  communion  with  Ithacus.  The  church  was 
not  yet  ripe  for  the  proclamation  of  the  doctrine  that 
Christians  were  to  slay  one  another  for  the  glory  of  God. 

But  a  distinguished  convert  whom  Ambrose  baptized, 
Augustine  of  Hippo,  did  not  shrink  from  giving  a  dog- 
matic basis  to  what  had  come  to  be  the  practice  of  the 
church,  and  even  professed  to  find  warrant  for  it  in  Scrip- 
ture. "  It  is,  indeed,  better  that  men  should  be  brought 
to  serve  God  by  instruction  than  by  fear  of  punishment, 
or  by  pain.  But  because  the  former  means  are  better, 
the  latter  must  not  therefore  be  neglected.  Many  must 
often  be  brought  back  to  their  Lord,  like  wicked  servants, 
by  the  rod  of  temporal  suffering,  before  they  attain  the 
highest  grade  of  religious  development.  .  .  The  Lord 
himself  orders  that  guests  be  first  invited,  then  com- 
pelled, to  his  great  supper."  And  Augustine  argues  that 
if  the  State  has  not  the  power  to  punish  religious  error, 

G 


98  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

neither  should  it  punish  a  crime  Hke  murder.  Rightly 
did  Neander  say  of  Augustine's  teaching,  that  it  "  con- 
tains the  germ  of  the  whole  system  of  spiritual  despotism, 
intolerance,  and  persecution,  even  to  the  court  of  the 
Inquisition."  Nor  was  it  long  before  the  final  step  was 
taken  in  the  church  doctrine  of  persecution.  Leo  the 
Great,  the  first  of  the  popes,  in  a  strict  sense  of  that 
term,  drew  the  logical  inference  from  the  premises  al- 
ready provided  for  him  by  the  Fathers  of  the  church, 
when  he  declared  that  death  is  the  appropriate  penalty 
for  heresy. 

Once  more,  let  us  be  just :  the  Roman  Church  is  right 
in  this  conclusion  if  we  grant  its  first  premise,  that  sal- 
vation depends  not  on  personal  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  as  a  result  of  which  or  in  connection  with  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  regenerates  the  soul  immediately,  but 
is  to  be  attained  only  through  the  church  and  its  sacra- 
ments— baptism  accomplishing  the  soul's  regeneration, 
and  this  new  life  being  nourished  and  preserved  through 
the  Eucharist  and  other  sacraments.  Granting  this  doc- 
trine of  sacramental  grace,  not  only  is  Rome  justified  in 
persecuting,  but  all  who  believe  in  sacramental  grace  are 
wrong  not  to  persecute.  For  if  salvation  is  impossible 
except  through  the  church  and  its  sacraments,  every 
heretic  is,  as  Rome  charges,  a  murderer  of  souls.  Is  it 
not  right  to  restrain  and  punish  a  murderer?  From  this 
point  of  view  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  church  to  root 
out  heresy  at  all  cost  of  human  life — to  make  the  world 
a  desert,  if  need  be,  but  at  any  rate  to  ensure  peace.  And 
all  persecutors  have  been  half-hearted  in  the  work  ex- 
cept only  Rome ;  she  has  had  the  courage  of  her  accursed 
convictions.  She  alone  has  recognized  that  if  you  say 
A  you  must  say  B,  and  so  on,  to  the  end  of  the  alphabet ; 
that  if  you  once  begin  to  persecute  you  must  not  tremble 
at  blood  and  tears,  nor  shrink  from  sending  men  to  the 


THE    WRATH    OF    THE   DRAGON  99 

rack,  the  gibbet,  and  the  stake.  The  Inquisition  is  the 
perfectly  logical,  the  inevitable  outcome  of  Roman  doc- 
trine, and  the  entire  system  of  persecution  is  rooted  in 
this  idea  of  sacramental  grace. 

After  the  theory  of  persecution  was  thus  fully  de- 
veloped, it  remained  to  put  it  consistently  into  practice. 
This  the  Roman  Church  was  slow  in  doing,  partly  for 
lack  of  power,  partly  because  the  pressure  of  need  was 
not  strongly  felt  until  the  twelfth  century.  Toward  the 
close  of  that  century  these  causes  of  delay  no  longer  ex- 
isted. During  the  pontificate  of  Innocent  III.  (1198- 
1216)  the  papacy  rose  to  the  zenith  of  its  baleful  au- 
thority. This  greatest  of  all  the  popes,  save  Hildebrand, 
blasphemously  appropriated  to  himself,  as  the  pretended 
vicar  of  Christ,  the  words  of  the  risen  Jesus,  "  All  power 
is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  earth,"  and  strove  to 
realize  them  in  Europe.  To  King  John,  of  England,  he 
said,  "  Jesus  Christ  wills  that  the  kingdom  should  be 
priestly,  and  the  priesthood  kingly.  Over  all,  he  set  me 
as  his  vicar  upon  earth,  so  that,  as  before  Jesus  '  every 
knee  shall  bow,'  in  like  manner  to  his  vicar  all  shall  be 
obedient,  and  there  shall  be  one  flock  and  one  shepherd. 
Pondering  this  truth,  thou,  as  a  secular  prince,  hast  sub- 
jected thy  realm  to  Him  to  whom  all  is  spiritually  sub- 
ject." This  claim  Innocent  made  good  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  Europe,  here  by  skilful  diplomacy,  there 
by  aid  of  the  sword,  elsewhere  by  the  spiritual  censures 
of  the  church.  He  humbled  the  pride  of  the  kings  of 
France  and  Spain,  made  and  unmade  emperors,  and  com- 
pelled England's  most  despotic  monarch  to  bow  the 
knee,  surrender  his  realms  "  to  God  and  the  pope,"  and 
receive  them  back  as  a  feudatory. 

But  while  the  pope  was  thus  successfully  asserting  his 
claim  to  be  supreme,  the  dispenser  and  withholder  of  all 
temporal   sovereignty,  the   church   was   menaced  by  an 


ICXD  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

internal  danger  that  threatened  not  merely  its  supremacy, 
but  its  very  existence.  The  twelfth  century  saw  the  be- 
ginning of  that  tremendous  uprising  of  the  human  spirit, 
in  its  aspiration  after  greater  freedom,  which  a  few  cen- 
turies later  produced  the  Renaissance,  the  Reformation, 
and  the  Revolution.  A  reaction  began  against  the  des- 
potism that  had  so  long  bound  the  spirit  of  man  in  the 
fetters  of  absolute  dogma.  While  the  popes  were  tri- 
umphing over  emperors  and  kings,  heresy  was  undermin- 
ing the  very  foundations  of  the  church.  The  teachings 
of  Arnold,  of  Savonarola,  of  Hus,  though  more  than 
once  the  church  had  believed  these  detested  heresies 
finally  extirpated,  had  showed  an  astonishing  persistence 
and  fruitfulness.  The  growth  of  these  heretical  sects 
was  doubtless  due  in  part  to  the  simplicity  and  scriptural- 
ness  of  their  teachings,  but  it  is  quite  as  much  to  be  as- 
cribed to  the  scandalous  lives  and  corrupt  practices  of 
the  clergy.  Men  loathed  a  church  in  which  the  cure  of 
souls,  from  parish  priest  to  pope,  was  bought  and  sold  as 
merchandise,  when  the  highest  ecclesiastics  bartered  bene- 
fices with  almost  as  little  secrecy  and  quite  as  little  shame 
as  a  huckster  displays  in  crying  oranges  or  green  peas 
in  our  streets.  Men  instinctively  rejected  the  ministra- 
tions of  priests  known  to  be  depraved  in  life,  and  more 
than  suspected  to  be  unbelievers  in  the  saving  sacraments 
they  pretended  to  dispense.  Language  is  inadequate  to 
describe  the  iniquity  of  a  system  in  which  the  very  popes 
swore  by  the  heathen  gods  and  were  atheists  at  heart,  in 
which  monastic  institutions  were  brothels,  in  which  the 
parish  priests,  though  feared,  were  also  hated  and  de- 
spised for  their  ignorance,  their  pride,  their  avarice,  and 
their  unclean  lives.  There  is  little  danger  that  one  who 
attempts  to  paint  the  manners  and  morals  of  the  medi- 
eval clergy  will  overcharge  his  brush  with  dark  color. 
Words  that  a  self-respecting  man  can  address  to  men  who 


Page  loo 


WiCLIF 


THE    WRATH    OF    THE    DRAGON  lOI 

respect  themselves  are  impotent  to  convey  more  than 
tame  and  feeble  hints  of  that  monstrous,  that  horrible, 
that  unspeakable  sink  of  iniquity,  that  abomination  of 
putrescence,  that  quintessence  of  all  infamies  thinkable 
and  unthinkable,  known  as  the  Holy  Roman  Catholic 
Church  of  the  Aliddle  Ages. 

In  sharp  contrast  with  such  a  church,  these  heretical 
teachers  preached  the  simple  faith  and  practice  of  the 
apostolic  churches,  and  illustrated  by  the  purity  of  their 
lives  the  beauty  of  the  gospel  they  taught.  True,  their 
savage  persecutors  did  not  hesitate  to  charge  upon  these 
sects  horrible  immoralities,  but  these  transparent  cal- 
umnies never  deceived  anybody — unless  we  except  a  few 
modern  historians  who  ardently  desired  to  be  deceived. 
What  gave  these  heretics  favor  with  the  people  was  not 
vices,  in  which  they  might  have  rivaled,  but  could  not 
hope  to  excel  the  priesthood,  but  virtues  in  which  they 
had  few  competitors  among  the  clergy.  The  common 
people  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  not  much  given  to  sub- 
tlety of  reasoning,  but  they  judged  the  two  trees  by  their 
fruits.  They  looked  at  the  church  and  beheld  rapacity, 
oppression,  wickedness,  from  highest  to  lowest  in  the 
hierarchy ;  they  looked  at  these  heretical  teachers  and  saw 
them  to  be  such  as  Jesus  was  when  upon  earth — poor, 
humble,  meek,  pure,  counting  not  life  itself  dear  unto 
them  if  they  might  by  any  means  win  some.  And  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  men  turned  their  backs 
upon  such  a  church  and  accepted  the  teachings  of  such 
heretics. 

And  these  teachings  were  nothing  less  than  revolution- 
ary. They  denied  that  tradition  has  any  authority,  they 
flung  aside  as  rubbish  all  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  all 
the  decrees  of  councils,  all  the  bulls  of  popes,  and  taught 
that  only  the  Scriptures,  and  especially  the  Scriptures 
of  the  New  Testament,  are  authoritative  in  questions  of 


102  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

religion,  whether  of  faith  or  of  practice.  They  denied 
the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments,  maintaining  that  that 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  that  which  is 
born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit;  and  therefore  denying  that 
an  inward  spiritual  change  can  by  any  possibility  be  pro- 
duced by  an  outward  physical  act.  They  were  Luther- 
ans before  Luther,  in  teaching  justification  by  faith  and 
not  by  works ;  and  more  radical  and  consistent  than 
Luther  in  accepting  the  legitimate  consequences  of 
their  doctrine;  for  they  rejected  the  baptism  of  infants 
as  alike  unwarranted  by  Scripture,  and  absurd  in  itself,  if 
sacramental  grace  be  denied.  These  are  the  distinctive 
teachings  of  Baptists  to-day,  and  the  men  who  held 
these  truths  from  the  twelfth  century  onward,  under  what 
various  nicknames  it  pleased  their  persecutors  to  give 
them,  were  our  spiritual  ancestry,  our  brethren  in  the 
faith. 

But,  alongside  of  these  evangelical  heresies  of  the 
twelfth  century  was  another  type  of  heresy,  as  wide- 
spread, as  large  in  numbers,  as  threatening  to  the  church, 
yet  widely  different  in  fundamental  ideas.  This  was  the 
sect  known  to  the  early  church  as  Manichasans,  one  of 
the  first  forms  of  heresy  and  the  most  persistent  of  all, 
which  under  various  names  had  endured  from  the  age 
immediately  succeeding  the  apostles.  In  the  East  they 
were  long  known  as  Paulicians,  in  Italy  as  the  Paterines, 
in  Bulgaria  as  Bogomils,  in  Southern  France  as  Albi- 
genses,  and  in  all  these  places  as  Cathari.  This  last  was 
their  own  preferred  name,  and  designated  them  as  Puri- 
tans— or  those  who,  both  in  doctrine  and  in  life,  were 
purer  than  the  so-called  Catholic  Church.  In  this  claim 
they  were  doubtless  justified,  for,  although  they  are 
charged  with  gross  immoralities,  there  is  only  too  good 
reason  to  reject  the  testimony  against  them;  and  their 
doctrinal    vagaries,    opposed    though    they    were    to    the 


THE    WRATH    OF    THE    DRAGON  IO3 

gospel,  were  less  gross  than  Rome's  idolatrous  worship  of 
the  saints,  the  Host,  the  images. 

Both  classes  of  these  heretics  flourished  during  the 
twelfth  century  in  Sovithern  France.  The  church  was 
not  at  all  careful  to  distinguish  between  them,  and  they 
were  often  included  under  the  name  of  Albigenses  in 
one  sweeping  general  condemnation.  That  name,  how- 
ever, does  not  properly  denote  the  evangelical  heretics, 
who  never  confounded  themselves  with  these  dualistic 
heretics,  and  indeed  sympathized  with  them  as  little  as 
they  did  with  Rome.  But  Rome  hated  both  with  an  im- 
partial and  undying  hatred ;  and  good  reason  she  had  for 
her  hatred,  for  toward  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century 
it  became  a  life-and-death  struggle  between  the  church 
and  these  rapidly  spreading  heresies.  In  1167  an  Albi- 
gensian  synod  was  held  at  Toulouse.  Little  is  known  of 
its  proceedings,  but  the  very  fact  that  such  an  assemblage 
could  be  held  shows  how  powerless  the  church  had  be- 
come in  that  region,  and  how  imperative  the  need  was, 
from  the  Roman  point  of  view,  for  active  and  effectual 
measures  of  repression.  Before  this,  recourse  had  been 
had  to  mild  measures  without  effect.  Bernard,  one  of 
the  most  eloquent  men  of  his  time,  and  a  man  of  saintly 
character,  had  gone  on  a  mission  among  them.  He  re- 
ports in  his  letters  that  the  churches  were  deserted,  the 
altars  falling  into  decay,  and  the  priests  starving.  He 
laments  that  the  whole  of  Southern  France  seems  given 
over  to  heresy,  and  no  doubt  his  grief  was  genuine. 

In  the  year  1215  Innocent  III.  summoned  the  Fourth 
Lateran  Council.  The  power  of  the  papacy  was  shown 
then  as  never  before  or  since  in  the  history  of  Europe. 
Emperors,  kings,  and  princes  sent  plenipotentiaries  as  to 
the  court  of  a  more  powerful  monarch.  The  pope  did 
not  content  himself  with  merely  controlling  the  council ; 
he  dominated  it.     There  was  no  pretense  of  debate.     The 


104  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

pope  prepared  and  handed  down  such  decrees  as  he 
wished  passed  and  the  council  obediently  registered  his 
will.  Among  the  decrees  thus  incorporated  into  the 
canon  law  of  the  church  were  three  relating  to  the  treat- 
ment of  heretics :  first,  that  all  rulers  should  be  exhorted 
to  tolerate  no  heretics  in  their  domains ;  second,  if  a 
ruler  refused  to  clear  his  land  of  heretics  at  the  demand 
of  the  church,  he  should  be  deprived  of  his  authority,  his 
subjects  should  be  released  from  their  allegiance,  and  if 
necessary,  he  should  be  driven  from  his  land  by  force ; 
third,  to  every  one  who  joined  in  an  armed  expedition 
against  heretics  the  same  indulgences  and  privileges 
should  be  granted  as  to  crusaders.  These  are  still  the 
canon  laws  of  the  Holy  Roman  Catholic  Church.  They 
have  never  been  repealed,  and  if  they  are  not  executed 
to-day  it  is  because  Rome  lacks  the  power  or  thinks  it 
not  expedient  to  use  it.  The  claim  is  there,  ready  to  be 
exercised  whenever  in  the  opinion  of  the  infallible  pontiff 
the  right  moment  has  arrived.  And  yet  Roman  priests 
in  America  would  fain  persuade  us  that  Rome  is  really 
in  favor  of  liberty  and  tolerance,  that  the  leopard  has 
changed  his  spots  and  the  Ethiopian  his  skin. 

Raymond  of  Toulouse,  sixth  of  the  name,  at  the  close 
of  the  twelfth  century  was  the  most  powerful  feudatory  of 
France,  almost  an  independent  sovereign,  allied  by  mar- 
riage and  blood  to  the  royal  houses  of  Castile,  Aragon, 
Navarre,  France,  and  England.  Most  of  his  barons  and 
the  great  majority  of  his  people  were  heretics;  and, 
though  he  was  nominally  loyal  to  the  church,  his  indiffer- 
ence to  the  suppression  of  heresy  was  bitterly  resented  by 
the  pope.  After  many  warnings,  he  was  excommuni- 
cated, and  finally  a  crusade  was  declared  against  him. 
Leaders  were  found,  first  in  Simon  de  Montfort,  Earl  of 
Leicester,  and  later  in  Louis  of  France ;  the  power  of 
Raymond  was  broken  and  the  Albigenses  were  crushed. 


THE    WRATH    OF   THE   DRAGON  I05 

The  war  was  carried  on  for  twenty  years ;  town  after 
town  was  captured ;  the  inhabitants  were  massacred  or 
sold  into  slavery.  A  large  part  of  the  most  fertile  region 
of  France  was  left  a  smoking  waste,  without  a  green 
thing  or  a  human  being  in  sight.  That  is  Romanism  in 
its  bright  flower  and  full  consummation :  better  desolation 
and  death  than  heresy. 

But  even  then  heresy  was  not  suppressed — the  snake 
was  scotched,  but  not  killed.  The  "  crusaders  "  could  not 
find  and  slay  all  the  heretics,  though  they  tried  faith- 
fully to  do  it.  Some  fled  to  other  parts,  others  dis- 
sembled or  recanted  and  saved  their  lives.  After  the 
crusade  was  over,  it  was  found  that  heresy  persisted 
in  secret,  that  the  heroic  remedies  of  fire  and  sword 
were  not  sufficiently  drastic  to  accomplish  the  desired 
result.  Organized  and  armed  heresy  had  indeed  ceased 
to  show  its  head,  but  a  mailed  knight  on  horseback  could 
not  cope  with  secret  heresy — that  required  the  subtle  in- 
genuity and  devilish  malignity  of  a  priest.  This  neces- 
sity produced,  by  a  natural  evolution,  the  Holy  Office 
of  the  Inquisition.  (One  notes  in  passing  the  tendency 
in  the  medieval  church,  wherever  any  institution  or 
practice  arose,  more  than  usually  satanic  in  spirit  and 
administration,  to  dignify  it  by  the  epithet  "holy.") 

There  was  already  in  existence  a  system  of  episcopal 
courts  for  the  discovery  and  punishment  of  heresy.  The 
effectiveness  of  these  courts  depended  on  the  intelligence 
and  energy  of  the  bishop.  Generally  they  were  not  very 
effective,  since  the  bishop  would  usually  await  popular 
rumor  or  definite  accusation  before  proceeding  against 
any  one.  This  regular  church  machinery  having  proved 
clumsy  and  ineffective,  it  remained  to  devise  a  better. 
Precedent  for  this  already  existed  in  a  custom,  dating 
from  Charlemagne,  of  occasionally  appointing  papal  com- 
missioners   for    a    special    emergency    in    a    particular 


I06  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

locality.  It  needed  only  to  make  such  a  commission  per- 
manent and  to  enlarge  the  scope  of  its  labors  until  it 
was  co-extensive  with  the  church.  What  the  necessities 
of  the  time  demanded  was  a  continuous  process  against 
heresy  directed  by  one  mind. 

An  institution  peculiar  to  the  medieval  church  nat- 
urally suggested  the  fitting  agents  for  this  work — the 
mendicant  orders,  scattered  over  the  whole  of  Europe, 
not  under  the  control  of  the  bishops,  independent  of  the 
secular  clergy,  responsible  only  to  the  pope.  Accord- 
ingly, on  April  20,  1233,  Gregory  IX.  issued  two  bulls 
making  the  prosecution  of  heresy  the  special  function  of 
the  Dominican  order.  From  this  time  on  the  institution 
rapidly  developed,  and  by  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury had  become  the  most  terrible  engine  of  oppression 
that  the  mind  of  man  or  devil  ever  conceived,  before 
which  kings  on  their  thrones  and  prelates  in  their  palaces 
trembled.  Inquisitors  could  not  be  excommunicated 
while  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  nor  could  any 
legate  of  the  pope  interfere  with  them  or  suspend  them 
from  office.  While  performing  their  duties  they  were 
freed  from  all  obligations  of  obedience  to  their  own 
generals,  as  well  as  to  the  bishops.  Their  jurisdiction 
was  universal,  and  any  one  who  refused  obedience  to 
their  summons  or  opposed  them  became  ipso  facto 
excommunicated. 

What  hope  was  there  for  one  who,  charged  with 
heresy,  fell  into  the  clutches  of  judges  such  as  this  sys- 
tem provided  ?  The  arrest  was  usually  secret ;  all  that 
the  friends  of  the  accused  ever  knew,  in  most  cases,  was 
that  he  had  disappeared.  It  was  not  considered  con- 
ducive to  health  to  make  any  open  inquiries  about  his 
whereabouts ;  it  having  been  observed  that  such  inquiries 
were  followed  by  the  disappearance  of  the  too  curious 
inquirer  also.     The  accused  was  never  permitted  to  have 


THE    WRATH    OF    THE   DRAGON  10/ 

counsel ;  he  was  confronted  by  no  accuser ;  he  was  not 
required  to  plead  to  any  precise  indictment.  He  could 
call  no  witnesses  in  defense ;  he  was  himself  usually  the 
chief  witness  for  the  prosecution — all  principles  of  juris- 
prudence and  all  natural  equity  being  set  at  naught  by 
requiring  him  to  testify  against  himself.  Everything 
that  human — no,  everything  that  diabolical — ingenuity 
could  do  to  entrap  him  into  damaging  admissions  and  to 
extract  from  him  a  confession  of  guilt  was  done.  The 
inquisitor  played  on  the  conscience,  on  the  affections, 
on  the  hopes  and  fears  of  his  victim,  with  cynical  dis- 
regard of  every  moral  law  and  inflicting  the  most  ex- 
quisite mental  tortures,  in  the  hope  of  securing  a 
confession. 

Finally,  if  all  other  means  failed,  the  inquisitors  had 
another  device  for  encouraging  (such  was  their  grim 
word)  the  accused  to  confess.  That  was  physical  tor- 
ture— the  rack,  the  thumbscrew,  the  boot,  cautery  in  vari- 
ous forms,  every  infernal  machine  that  could  be  devised 
to  produce  the  most  excruciating  agony  without  unduly 
maiming  or  killing.  Sometimes  solitary  confinement  in 
a  dungeon  was  tried,  as  a  means  more  effective  than 
pain  of  breaking  a  stubborn  will.  Months  lengthened 
into  years  and  years  into  decades,  and  still  the  Inquisi- 
tion's victim  might  find  himself  unconvicted,  but  with 
no  better  prospect  of  liberty  than  on  the  first  day.  The 
Inquisition  had  all  the  time  there  was  and  was  willing 
to  wait ;  its  patience  never  wearied.  If  a  prisoner's  reso- 
lution gave  way  under  torture  or  imprisonment,  he  had 
to  sign  a  statement  that  his  confession  was  not  made 
because  of  love,  fear  or  hatred  of  any  one,  but  of  his 
own  free  will.  If  he  subsequently  recanted,  the  confession 
was  to  be  regarded  as  true,  and  the  retraction  as  the 
perjury  of  an  impenitent  and  relapsed  heretic,  who 
received  condign  punishment  without  further  trial. 


I08  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Though  no  effort  was  spared  to  obtain  a  written  con- 
fession of  heresy,  the  accused  might  in  the  last  resort 
be  condemned  without  it.  Only  in  one  way  could  he  be 
certain  of  saving  his  life,  and  that  was  by  a  full  con- 
fession at  once,  accompanied  by  a  recantation  of  his  er- 
rors and  abject  submission  to  the  church.  Then  his  life 
would  be  spared,  but  more  likely  than  not  it  would  be 
spent  in  some  dungeon ;  only  in  rare  cases  was  one  who 
once  fell  into  the  clutches  of  the  Inquisition  suffered  to 
return  to  his  home  and  estate ;  and  in  those  rare  cases  he 
was  subject  to  life-long  espionage  and  harassment. 

When  the  process  was  completed  and  the  accused  was 
found  guilty  of  heresy — which  was  the  normal  ending  of 
a  case — the  inquisitors  handed  the  heretic  over  to  the 
civil  power  for  punishment,  with  a  hypocritical  recom- 
mendation to  mercy.  But  woe  to  the  secular  authority 
that  heeded  the  recommendation !  If  a  magistrate  failed 
for  twelve  months  to  put  to  death  a  condemned  heretic, 
the  refusal  itself  constituted  heresy,  and  he  became  sub- 
ject to  the  kind  offices  of  the  Inquisition.  Even  if  he 
were  excommunicated,  the  magistrate  must  do  his  duty. 
The  church,  with  characteristic  evasion  of  the  truth, 
claims  to  this  day  that  it  has  never  put  a  heretic  to 
death.  The  claim  is  technically  correct,  if  we  except 
those  who  died  in  its  dungeons  and  torture-chambers ; 
but  the  church  coerced  the  civil  power  into  becoming  its 
executioner,  and  therefore  its  moral  responsibility  is  the 
same.  When  the  heretic  was  dead,  the  vengeance  of  the 
church  was  not  sated.  All  his  lands  and  goods  were 
confiscated,  his  blood  was  attainted,  his  family  were  beg- 
gared, if  they  did  not  share  his  fate,  and  his  name 
was  blotted  out  of  existence — life,  property,  titles,  all 
disappeared. 

We  must  not  think  of  the  Inquisition  as  the  instru- 
ment of  wicked  men  solely,  or  even  mainly,  though  its 


<^ 

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-' 

i 

^^ 

^Jb  2>i>i  i^"^  - 

j.1ui\ 

\lS5. 

Page 

108 

The  Maktyhdom  of  John   Hus 

i 

THE    WRATH    OF    THE    DRAGON  ICQ 

Satanic  origin  seems  to  be  stamped  all  over  it.  But 
saintly  Bernard  was  a  more  bitter  persecutor  than  the 
infamous  Borgias ;  Innocent  III.,  the  purest  of  the  me- 
dieval popes,  must  be  called  the  father  of  the  Inqui- 
sition. In  fact,  the  more  pious  a  medieval  Catholic  was, 
the  more  he  believed  with  all  his  heart  and  soul  in  the 
church  and  her  sacraments,  the  more  he  was  impelled  to 
persecute.  Such  men  hunted  down  heresy,  not  because 
they  hated  the  heretic,  but  because  they  loved  the  souls 
of  men,  whose  eternal  salvation  they  believed  to  be  en- 
dangered. It  is  an  awful  warning  to  all  the  succeeding 
ages  of  the  fathomless  iniquity  into  which  a  perverted 
conscience  may  lead  men  whose  greatest  desire  is  the 
glory  of  God. 

The  names  of  few  of  these  martyrs  have  been  pre- 
served, but  the  complaints  of  their  obstinacy  and  ob- 
duracy that  abound  in  the  Catholic  writings  of  the  period 
are  the  convincing  testimony  to  their  heroic  constancy. 
They  saw  the  truth  clearly  and  were  loyal  to  it  at  every 
cost.  They  were  slain  by  tens  of  thousands;  a  remnant 
of  them  were  driven  into  inaccessible  mountain  fast- 
nesses, where  they  maintained  themselves  and  their  faith 
for  centuries ;  they  became  a  "  hidden  seed  "  in  many 
parts  of  Europe.  By  her  system  of  vigor  and  rigor  the 
Roman  Church  won  a  temporary  triumph :  heresy  was 
apparently  suppressed ;  the  reformation  of  the  church 
was  postponed  for  three  centuries. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE   OLD   EVANGELICAL   PARTY 

'"T^HERE  were  protestants  before  Protestantism,  re- 
X  formers  before  the  Reformation — not  only  indi- 
vidual protestants,  as  we  have  already  seen,  but  prot- 
estant  bodies.  The  corruption  of  the  primitive  churches 
and  the  development  of  Roman  Catholicism  was  a  logi- 
cal process  that  extended  over  a  period  of  centuries.  As 
the  church  diverged  more  and  more  widely  from  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  as  the  papacy  gradually 
extended  its  power  over  all  Europe,  except  where  the 
Greek  Church  successfully  resisted  its  claims,  it  was  in- 
evitable that  this  tyranny  should,  from  time  to  time,  pro- 
voke revolts ;  that  against  this  apostasy  there  should  be 
periodic  reactions  toward  a  purer  faith.  From  the  be- 
ginning of  the  twelfth  century  these  uprisings  within 
the  church  became  more  numerous,  until  the  various  pro- 
tests combined  their  forces,  in  large  part  unconsciously, 
to  form  the  movement  since  known  as  the  Reformation. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  each  of  these  revolts  against 
the  corrupt  doctrine  and  life  of  the  church  had  an 
independent  origin  within  the  church  itself.  There  may 
have  been,  there  doubtless  was,  some  connection  between 
these  various  revolts,  some  connection  also  between 
them  and  the  earlier  heresies  and  schisms,  so  called,  in 
the  church.  Though  one  may  feel  morally  certain  of 
this  fact,  actual  proof  of  it  is  not  possible;  all  trace  of 
the  connection  has  disappeared,  and  there  is  little  reason 
to  hope  that  proofs  will  ever  be  recovered. 

But    if    we    may    not    trace,    by    unbroken    historical 


THE  OLD  EVANGELICAL  PARTY  III 

descent,  a  line  of  sects  protesting  against  the  corruptions 
and  usurpations  of  the  Roman  CathoUc  Church,  and  so 
estabhsh  the  antiquity  of  any  one  modern  Protestant  de- 
nomination, it  still  remains  an  unquestioned  historic  fact 
that  these  successive  revolts  constituted  a  gradual  and 
effective  preparation  for  the  general  movement  known 
as  the  Reformation,  and  for  the  rise  of  modern  evan- 
gelical bodies.  So  convinced  are  some  modern  investi- 
gators (not  Baptists)  of  the  substantial  identity  of  these 
various  attempts  at  a  reformation,  from  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury onward,  that  they  treat  these  attempts  as  one  con- 
tinuous movement.  Dr.  Ludwig  Keller,  formerly  State 
archivist  at  Miinster,  gives  to  the  various  phases  of  this 
revolt  against  Rome,  the  title  of  "  The  Old  Evangelical 
Party,"  and  asserts  its  substantial  unity  and  identity 
for  several  centuries  before  the  Lutheran  Reformation. 
By  ingenious  conjecture,  rather  than  by  valid  historic 
proofs,  he  makes  out  a  plausible  case,  which  further  re- 
search may,  perhaps,  fully  confirm.  An  identity  of 
spirit,  a  substantial  unanimity  of  teaching,  he  has  shown, 
and  this  is  a  fact  of  great  significance. 

The  earliest  of  these  protests  that  took  definite  form 
grew  out  of  the  work  of  Peter  of  Bruys.  Not  much  is 
known  of  the  life  of  this  teacher.  It  is  said  by  some 
that,  like  Arnold  of  Brescia,  he  was  a  pupil  of  Abelard, 
but  this  is  doubtful.  He  is  found  preaching  in  Southern 
France  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century, 
where  he  labored  for  twenty  years,  and  he  was  burned 
as  a  heretic  in  the  year  1126.  His  doctrines  are  known 
to  us  chiefly  through  his  bitter  enemy  and  persecutor, 
Peter  the  Venerable,  Abbot  of  Clugny,  who  wrote  a  book 
against  the  heresy  of  the  Petrobrusians.  With  due  allow- 
ance for  the  mistakes  honestly  made  by  this  prelate,  we 
may  deduce  approximately  the  teachings  of  this  body. 
We  find  their  fundamental  principle  to  be  the  rejection 


112  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

of  tradition  and  an  appeal  to  Scripture  as  the  sole  au- 
thority in  religion.  The  abbot  complains  in  his  treatise 
that  these  heretics  will  not  yield  to  tradition  or  the  au- 
thority of  the  church,  but  demand  Scripture  proof  for 
everything;  because  it  would  have  been  easy  for  him  to 
confute  them  by  quoting  any  quantity  of  passages  from 
the  Fathers,  only  these  obstinate  heretics  would  have 
none  of  the  Fathers. 

In  the  preface  to  his  treatise,  the  abbot  sums  up  the 
errors  of  the  Petrobrusians  under  five  heads,  which  he 
then  proceeds  to  answer  at  length.  The  first  error  is 
their  denial  "  that  children,  before  the  age  of  under- 
standing, can  be  saved  by  the  baptism  of  Christ,  or  that 
another's  faith  avails  those  who  cannot  exercise  faith 
since,  according  to  them  [the  Petrobrusians]  not 
another's,  but  one's  own  faith,  together  with  baptism, 
saves,  as  the  Lord  says,  '  He  who  will  believe  and  be 
baptized  shall  be  saved,  but  he  who  will  not  believe  shall 
be  condemned.' "  "  Infants,  though  baptized  by  you 
[Romanists],  because  by  reason  of  age  they  neverthe- 
less cannot  believe,  are  by  no  means  saved;  [that  is  to 
say,  are  not  saved  by  baptism ;  this  is  evidently  what  the 
Petrobrusians  taught,  not  a  denial  of  the  salvation  of 
infants ;  to  a  Romanist,  denial  of  baptism  was  a  denial 
of  salvation,  but  not  so  to  the  Petrobrusians]  ;  hence  it 
is  idle  and  vain  at  that  time  to  wet  men  with  water, 
by  which  ye  may  wash  away  the  filth  of  the  body  after 
the  manner  of  men,  but  ye  can  by  no  means  cleanse  the 
soul  from  sin.  But  we  wait  for  the  proper  time,  and 
after  a  man  is  prepared  to  know  his  God  and  believe  in 
him,  we  do  not  (as  you  accuse  us)  rebaptize  him,  but 
we  baptize  him  who  can  be  said  never  to  have  been 
baptized — washed  with  the  baptism  by  which  sins  are 
washed  away." 

The  second  error  charged  was  that  these  heretics  said, 


THE  OLD  EVANGELICAL  PARTY  II3 

"  Edifices  for  temples  and  churches  should  not  be  erected; 
that  those  erected  should  be  pulled  down;  that  places 
sacred  to  prayer  are  unnecessary  for  Christians,  since 
equally  in  the  inn  and  the  church,  in  forum  or  temple, 
before  the  altar  or  stable,  if  God  is  invoked  he  hears 
and  answers  those  who  deserve  it."  Again,  they  are 
quoted  as  saying,  "  It  is  superfluous  to  build  temples, 
since  the  church  of  God  does  not  consist  in  a  multitude 
of  stones  joined  together,  but  in  the  unity  of  the  believers 
assembled." 

The  third  shocking  error  enumerated  by  the  abbot 
is  that  the  Petrobrusians  "  command  the  sacred  crosses 
to  be  broken  in  pieces  and  burned,  because  that  form  or 
instrument  by  which  Christ  was  so  dreadfully  tortured, 
so  cruelly  slain,  is  not  worthy  of  any  adoration,  or  ven- 
eration or  supplication,  but  for  the  avenging  of  his  tor- 
ments and  death  it  should  be  treated  with  unseemly 
dishonor, .  cut  in  pieces  with  swords,  burnt  in  fire." 

The  fourth  error,  according  to  the  same  authority,  was 
that  the  Petrobrusians  denied  sacramental  grace,  espe- 
cially the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  the  keystone  of 
the  sacramental  system :  "  They  deny,  not  only  the  truth 
of  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord,  daily  and  constantly 
offered  in  the  church  through  the  sacrament,  but  de- 
clare that  it  is  nothing  at  all,  and  ought  not  to  be  offered 
to  God."  They  say,  "  Oh,  people,  do  not  believe  the 
bishops,  priests,  or  clergy  who  seduce  you ;  who,  as  in 
many  things,  so  in  the  office  of  the  altar,  deceive  you 
when  they  falsely  profess  to  make  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  give  it  to  you  for  the  salvation  of  your  souls.  They 
clearly  lie.  For  the  body  of  Christ  was  made  only  once 
by  Christ  himself  in  the  supper  before  his  passion,  and 
once  for  all  at  this  time  only  was  given  to  his  disciples. 
Hence  it  is  neither  made  by  any  one  nor  given  to  any 
one."      These   words    convey   an   utter    absurdity,    that 

H 


114  A   SHORT    HiSTORV   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

Christ,  while  still  in  the  flesh,  made  and  gave  his  body  to 
his  disciples ;  but  the  absurdity  is  doubtless  one  of  the 
abbot's  blunders.  What  is  certain  is  the  repudiation  by 
the  Petrobrusians  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass. 

The  fifth  error  is  that  "  they  deride  sacrifices,  prayers, 
alms,  and  other  good  works  by  the  faithful  living  for  the 
faithful  dead,  and  say  that  these  things  cannot  aid  any 
of  the  dead  even  in  the  least."  Again :  "  The  good  deeds 
of  the  living  cannot  profit  the  dead,  because  translated 
from  this  life  their  merits  cannot  be  increased  or  di- 
minished, for  beyond  this  life  there  is  no  longer  place 
for  merits,  only  for  retribution.  Nor  can  a  dead  man 
hope  from  anybody  that  which  while  alive  in  the  world 
he  did  not  obtain.  Therefore  those  things  are  vain  that 
are  done  by  the  living  for  the  dead,  because  since  they 
are  mortal  they  passed  by  death  over  the  way  for  all 
flesh  to  the  state  of  the  future  world,  and  took  with 
them  all  their  merit,  to  which  nothing  can  be  added." 

From  these  statements  of  Peter  the  Venerable  it  is 
plain  that  the  Petrobrusians  held  that  a  true  church  is 
composed  only  of  believers ;  that  faith  should  precede 
baptism,  and  therefore  the  baptism  of  infants  is  a  mean- 
ingless ceremony.  They  held  these  things  because  they 
found  them  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  and  rejected  the 
authority  of  the  church  and  of  the  Fathers  to  impose 
terms  of  salvation  on  them  beyond  those  imposed  by 
Christ  and  the  apostles.  Their  apparent  denial  of  the 
salvation  of  infants  is  probably  a  misconception  of  the 
abbot's,  as  was  also  his  attributing  to  them  the  notion 
that  man  may  merit  the  favor  of  God  by  good  works  in 
this  life.  The  good  Peter  was  so  fully  imbued  with 
Catholic  ideas  that  he  was  incapable  of  comprehending 
fully  the  teachings  of  the  Petrobrusians,  though  he  seems 
to  have  tried  to  do  it. 

What  shall  we  say  to  the  opposition  of  the   Petro- 


THE  OLD   EVANGELICAL   PARTY  II5 

brusians  to  church  buildings,  crosses,  the  singing  of 
hymns — which  the  abbot  mentions  in  the  body  of  his 
treatise — and  the  Hke  ?  This  merely :  they  had  become 
so  accustomed  to  the  misuse  of  these  things,  to  seeing 
them  the  concomitants  of  an  idolatrous  worship,  that  they 
became  unwise,  extreme,  fanatical,  in  their  opposition  to 
them.  It  was  a  quite  natural  result  of  the  vigor  of  their 
reaction  from  the  false  teaching  and  false  practice  that 
they  found  in  the  Catholic  churches  of  their  day. 

It  is  evident  that  the  "  errors  "  of  the  Petrobrusians 
were  what  Baptists  have  always  maintained  to  be  the 
fundamental  truths  of  the  Scriptures.  Any  body  of 
Christians  that  holds  to  the  supremacy  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, a  church  of  the  regenerate  only,  and  believers'  bap- 
tism, is  fundamentally  one  with  the  Baptist  churches  of 
to-day,  whatever  else  it  may  add  to  or  omit  from  its 
statement  of  beliefs.  Contemporary  records  have  been 
sought  in  vain  to  establish  any  essential  doctrine  taught 
by  this  condemned  sect  that  is  inconsistent  either  with 
the  teaching  of  Scripture  or  with  the  beliefs  avowed  in 
recent  times  by  Baptists.  With  regard  to  the  act  of  bap- 
tism contemporary  record  says  nothing.  There  was  no 
reason  why  it  should,  unless  there  was  some  peculiarity 
in  the  administration  of  baptism  among  the  Petrobru- 
sians. It  cannot  be  positively  affirmed  that  they  were 
exclusively  immersionists ;  but  if  they  were,  the  fact 
would  call  for  no  special  mention  by  contemporary 
writers,  since  immersion  was  still  the  common  practice 
of  the  church  in  the  twelfth  century. 

There  were  other  preachers  of  a  pure  gospel,  nearly 
contemporary  with  Peter  of  Bruys  and  more  or  less 
closely  connected  with  him.  Like  him  they  came  forth 
from  the  Roman  Church.  The  monastery  of  Clugny, 
in  Burgundy,  was  the  most  famous  cloister  of  medieval 
times.     Founded  early  in  the  tenth  century,  it  enforced 


Il6  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

the  rule  of  Benedict  with  rigor,  and  was  famous  for  the 
piety  and  scholarship  of  its  abbots  and  monks.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  its  discipline  had  been 
greatly  relaxed,  and  its  internal  management  had  become 
scandalous.  Chastity,  sobriety,  and  piety  were  unmean- 
ing words ;  they  represented  nothing  in  the  life  of  the 
inmates.  Later,  under  the  rule  of  Peter  the  Venerable, 
the  discipline  was  reformed  and  the  ancient  glories  of 
the  cloister  were  more  than  equaled. 

At  a  time  when  things  were  at  their  worst,  a  monk 
named  Henry  became  an  inmate  of  Clugny.  His  birth- 
place and  date  of  birth  are  not  certainly  known;  both 
Switzerland  and  Italy  are  given  for  the  former,  and  of  the 
latter  all  that  can  be  said  is  that  he  was  probably  born 
toward  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century.  We  know  that 
he  was  a  man  of  earnest  soul,  to  whom  religion  was  not 
a  mere  mockery,  and  that  he  was  so  disgusted  with  the 
immoral  lives  of  the  Clugny  monks  that  he  could  no 
longer  stay  there.  Renouncing  his  cowl  and  the  cloister 
life,  he  began  to  preach  the  gospel  from  place  to  place. 
He  never  ceased  to  denounce  the  monks,  and  they,  in 
turn,  followed  him  with  calumnies.  Even  the  saintly 
Bernard  speaks  of  Henry's  shameless  mode  of  life,  but 
gives  no  proofs ;  and  his  letter  is  so  tinged  with  bitterness 
as  to  make  his  charges  of  no  weight. 

Henry  is  a  somewhat  vague  figure.  We  can  only 
catch  glimpses  of  him  going  up  and  down  France,  like 
a  flaming  fire,  rousing  the  people  to  detestation  of  the 
monks,  and  to  some  degree  of  the  secular  clergy  also. 
He  is  described  as  a  man  of  imposing  appearance,  whose 
fiery  eye,  thundering  voice,  and  great  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures  made  him  a  preacher  who  swayed  at  will  the 
multitudes  that  listened  to  him.  He  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  a  heretic,  at  least  in  the  earlier  part  of  his 
career,  but  a  would-be  reformer.     In  1116  he  created  a 


THE   OLD   EVANGELICAL    PARTY  I.I7 

great  commotion  in  the  diocese  of  Mans,  denouncing  the 
corruption  of  the  clergy  and  preaching  the  truths  of 
Scripture  until  the  bishop  drove  him  away.  Soon  after 
this  he  met  Peter  of  Bruys  and  accompanied  him  in  his 
labors.  It  does  not  appear  that  at  this  time  he  avowed 
sympathy  with  the  doctrines  of  Peter,  for  when  he  was 
arrested  in  1134  by  the  bishop  of  Aries  and  brought  be- 
fore the  Council  of  Pisa  he  was  not  condemned,  as  an 
adherent  of  Peter  would  certainly  have  been,  but  soon 
after  released.  No  doubt  he  was  considered  indiscreet 
in  the  things  he  had  been  saying  about  the  clergy,  but 
evidently  no  ground  was  then  discovered  for  treating 
him  as  a  heretic. 

After  this  he  repaired  to  Southern  France,  and  con- 
tinued his  preaching.  From  this  time  there  is  good  rea- 
son to  suppose  that  he  adopted,  in  part  at  least,  the  opin- 
ions of  Peter  of  Bruys,  especially  the  denial  that  infants 
are  scripturally  baptized.  One  of  Bernard's  letters  seems 
to  be  conclusive  on  this  point.  Writing  to  the  Count  of 
Toulouse,  to  warn  him  against  this  ravening  wolf  mas- 
querading in  sheep's  clothing,  he  thus  bears  testimony  to 
the  extent  of  Henry's  influence  and  speaks  of  his 
teachings : 


The  churches  are  without  congregations,  congregations  without 
priests,  priests  without  their  due  reverence,  and,  worst  of  all, 
Christians  without  Christ.  Churches  are  regarded  as  synagogues, 
the  sanctuary  of  God  is  said  to  have  no  sanctity,  the  sacraments 
are  not  thought  to  be  sacred,  feast  days  are  deprived  of  their 
wonted  solemnities.  Men  are  dying  in  their  sins,  souls  are  be- 
ing dragged  everywhere  before  the  dread  Tribunal,  neither  being 
reconciled  by  repentance  nor  fortified  by  Holy  Communion.  The 
way  of  Christ  is  shut  to  the  children  of  Christians,  and  they  are 
not  allowed  to  enter  the  way  of  salvation,  although  the  Saviour 
lovingly  calls  on  their  behalf,  "  Sufifer  little  children  to  come  unto 
me."  Does  God,  then,  who,  as  he  has  multiplied  his  mercy,  has 
saved  both  man  and  beast,  debar  innocent  Httle  children  from 


Il8  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

this  his  so  great  mercy?  Why,  I  ask,  why  does  he  begrudge  to 
httle  ones  their  Infant  Saviour,  who  was  born  for  them?  This 
envy  is  of  the  devil.  By  this  envy  death  entered  into  the  whole 
world.  Or  does  he  suppose  that  little  children  have  no  need  of  a 
Saviour,  because  they  are  children? 

It  does  not  seem  open  to  reasonable  doubt,  therefore, 
that  Henry  of  Lausanne,  Hke  Peter  of  Bruys  and  the 
Waldenses,  taught  that  only  believers  should  be  baptized, 
and  that  the  baptism  of  unconscious  babes  is  a  travesty 
upon  the  baptism  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  end  of  Henry  is  sad.  He  was  again  arrested  and 
arraigned  before  the  Synod  of  Rheims  in  1148,  by  which 
body  he  was  condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  It 
is  not  definitely  known  whether  he  was  convicted  of 
heresy,  probably  not,  or  immediate  death  would  have  been 
his  portion.  It  is  possible  that  under  torture  some  kind 
of  retraction  was  wrung  from  him;  and  when  a  heretic 
thus  confessed,  the  church  would  sometimes  merci- 
fully (?)  spare  his  life  and  let  him  drag  out  a  miserable 
existence  in  her  dungeons.  Nothing  more  is  known  of 
his  fate.  From  the  oubliettes  of  the  church  none  ever 
returned,  and  the  day  of  their  death  was  never  known. 
We  may  hope,  in  the  absence  of  all  information,  that 
Henry  of  Lausanne  continued  to  the  last  the  faithful  con- 
fessor of  the  truth  he  had  preached.  He  left  behind  him 
numerous  followers,  who  took  the  name  of  Henricians 
and  were  little  other  than  Petrobrusians  under  a  different 
name.  Like  the  Petrobrusians,  they  seem  to  have  been 
absorbed  into  the  body  known  as  Waldenses,  and  do  not 
long  maintain  a  separate  name  and  existence. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century  Southern 
France  was  the  scene  of  a  still  more  energetic  reaction 
from  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  is  remarkable  in  that 
it  was  not  at  first  a  reform  movement,  and  was  not  hos- 
tile to  the  church  until  driven  by  it  into  hostility.     The 


THE  OLD  EVANGELICAL  PARTY  II9 

new  party  was  called  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  Leonists,  and 
Waldenses,  the  last  being  perhaps  their  best-known 
name.  The  origin  alike  of  name  and  party  is  obscure, 
but  both  seem  to  have  originated  with  a  citizen  of  Lyons 
named  Peter  Waldo,  or,  more  properly,  Valdez  (Latin, 
\^aldesius).  This  name  probably  indicates  the  place  of  his 
birth — in  the  Canton  of  Vaud  perhaps ;  and  as  Peter  of 
the  Valley  he  was  distinguished  from  the  numerous  other 
Peters  of  his  day.  We  first  gain  sight  of  him  about  the 
year  1150  when,  already  past  middle  life,  he  was  a  rich 
merchant  of  Lyons,  who  had  not  been  over-particular,  it 
is  said,  about  the  means  by  which  he  had  acquired  his 
fortune.  One  day  a  friend  fell  dead  at  his  side.  Waldo 
said  to  himself:  If  death  had  stricken  me,  what  would 
have  become  of  my  soul  ?  Other  circumstances  increased 
his  burden  of  mind,  until  he  sought  a  master  of  theology 
for  the  consolation  that  he  was  unable  to  find  in  the 
round  of  fasts  and  penances  prescribed  by  the  church. 
The  theologian  talked  learnedly,  and  the  more  he  talked 
the  greater  became  Waldo's  perplexity.  Finally  he 
asked,  "  Of  all  the  roads  that  lead  to  heaven,  which  is 
the  surest?  I  desire  to  follow  the  perfect  way."  "Ah!" 
answered  the  theologian,  "  that  being  the  case,  here  is 
Christ's  precept :  '  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  sell  that 
thou  hast  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have 
treasure  in  heaven ;  and  come  take  up  thy  cross  and 
follow  me.'  " 

Waldo  returned  home  pondering  these  words.  Had 
he  been  a  learned  theologian  he  would  at  once  have  un- 
derstood that  the  words  were  not  to  be  understood  lit- 
erally, but  contained  some  mystical  or  allegorical  mean- 
ing; he  was  a  plain  man  and  knew  no  better  than  to 
obey.  First  of  all,  he  told  his  resolution  to  his  wife. 
She  being  of  a  worldly  turn,  and  by  no  means  alarmed 
about  her  soul's  salvation,  was  much  vexed.     At  length 


120  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

Waldo  said  to  her,  "  I  am  possessed  of  personal  property 
and  real  estate,  take  your  choice."  The  real  estate  was 
of  no  small  value :  including  houses,  meadows,  vineyards, 
woods,  bake-houses,  and  mills,  the  rents  of  which  brought 
in  a  goodly  income.  The  wife's  choice  was  quickly 
made ;  she  chose  the  real  estate,  leaving  to  Waldo  the 
business  and  ready  money.  Closing  out  his  business, 
Waldo  devoted  a  portion  of  his  money  to  providing  a 
dowry  for  his  daughters ;  and  with  other  sums  he  made 
reparation  to  such  as  he  had  treated  unjustly  in  business. 

Considerable  money  yet  remained  to  him,  and  he  de- 
voted it  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  Lyons,  where  a  famine 
was  then  raging.  He  had  been  a  man  of  business,  and 
his  charity  was  managed  in  a  business-like  way.  He 
planned  a  distribution  of  bread,  meat,  and  other  pro- 
visions, three  times  a  week,  beginning  at  Pentecost  and 
continuing  until  mid-August.  Thus  he  did  until  his 
money  was  exhausted,  and  he  was  fain  to  ask  food  of 
a  friend  for  himself.  His  wife  heard  of  this  and  was 
very  angry.  She  appealed  to  the  archbishop,  and  be- 
sought Waldo  himself  in  these  words :  "  Husband,  listen ; 
if  any  one  is  to  redeem  his  soul  by  the  alms  he  gives  you, 
is  it  not  best  that  it  should  be  your  wife  rather  than  such 
as  are  not  of  our  household?  "  The  archbishop  delivered 
a  homily  on  his  extravagance  and  formally  forbade  him, 
when  he  was  in  the  city,  ever  to  take  food  anywhere  but 
at  his  wife's  table. 

In  the  meantime,  Waldo  had  been  studying  the  Scrip- 
tures. Finding  the  Latin  hard  to  understand,  he  sought 
out  two  ecclesiastics  who  were  willing  to  translate  it  into 
his  vernacular,  for  a  consideration.  One  wrote  while 
the  other  dictated,  and  in  this  way  they  made  a  transla- 
tion of  the  Gospels,  selections  from  the  Epistles,  and  a 
collection  of  maxims  from  the  Fathers  of  the  church. 
This  translation  Waldo  read  and  studied  until  it  was 


THE   OLD    EVANGELICAL    PARTY  121 

indelibly  engraved  on  mind  and  heart,  and  flowed  spon- 
taneously from  his  lips.  From  meditating  on  it  himself 
he  began  to  repeat  it  to  others.  The  wandering  ballad- 
singer  was  a  popular  institution  in  his  time  and  country, 
and  he  had  little  difficulty  in  persuading  people  to  listen 
to  his  stories  from  the  Gospels,  instead  of  a  secular 
ballad.  And  so  Waldo  became  a  preacher  of  the  gospel, 
little  more  than  a  reciter  of  its  precepts  at  first,  and  with 
no  intention  of  revolting  against  Rome,  wishing  only 
the  privilege  of  telling  to  others  the  good  news  of  sal- 
vation that  had  been  so  precious  to  his  own  troubled 
heart.  Soon  he  gained  disciples.  These  he  taught  as- 
siduously, until  they  too  could  tell  the  simple  gospel 
story,  and  as  they  gained  skill  he  sent  them  forth  to  the 
shops  and  market-places,  to  visit  from  house  to  house, 
and  preach  the  truth.  These  preachers  literally  obeyed 
the  instructions  of  Christ  to  the  seventy ;  they  went  forth 
in  voluntary  poverty,  anxious  only  to  proclaim  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  accepting  such  hospitality  as  was 
voluntarily  offered  them. 

Such  a  work  as  this  could  not  go  on  long  without  the 
cognizance  of  Roman  ecclesiastics.  The  preachers  were 
becoming  numerous  and  spreading  apace.  True,  they 
did  not  oppose  the  church  in  any  way;  they  were  not 
known  to  teach  any  heresy;  but  the  priesthood  was 
jealous  of  these  unauthorized  preachers  and  demanded 
that  they  be  silenced.  Waldo  was  banished  from  the  dio- 
cese of  Archbishop  Guichard,  and  in  1177  he  betook 
himself  to  Rome  to  appeal  to  the  pope,  Alexander  III. 
But  those  were  the  days  of  triumphant  clericalism,  and 
Waldo's  appeal  was  fruitless.  The  pope  received 
Waldo  kindly,  as  a  good  son  of  the  church ;  his  vow  of 
poverty  w^as  a  thing  that  every  ecclesiastic  approved.  It 
is  even  said  that  Alexander  kissed  Waldo's  cheek,  as  a 
sign  of  recognition  of  his  holy  repute.     But  in  the  matter 


122  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

of  preaching,  the  pope  stood  firm ;  his  answer  was :  "  You 
shall  not,  under  any  circumstances,  preach  except  at  the 
express  desire  and  under  the  authority  of  the  clergy  of 
your  country  " — the  men  who  had  already  silenced  and 
banished  him. 

This  hard  sentence  was  the  parting  of  the  ways  to 
Waldo  and  his  followers.  Should  they  obey  God  or 
man?  Should  they  choose  church  or  Christ?  They 
were  not  long  in  making  choice,  and  in  making  it  they 
became  heretics,  reformers,  for  they  set  themselves 
against  the  church  that  they  might  have  liberty  to  follow 
Christ.  In  this  treatment  of  Waldo,  Rome  showed  her- 
self less  wise  than  afterward,  when  Francis  of  Assisi 
sought  similar  tolerance  for  his  order  of  preachers.  Had 
Pope  Alexander  III.  been  a  little  more  astute  there  might 
have  been  a  new  order  of  lay  preachers  in  the  Roman 
Church,  no  sect  of  the  Waldenses  and,  perhaps,  no 
Lutheran  Reformation. 

But  though  the  Waldenses  now  became  schismatics, 
and  were  soon  regarded  as  heretical,  they  did  not  cease 
to  multiply.  Persecution  had  no  effect  in  checking  their 
growth,  at  least  for  some  time.  This  rapid  growth  of 
the  body  cannot  be  explained  wholly  by  the  general  pre- 
paredness of  the  church  for  the  preaching  of  a  more 
spiritual  faith;  or,  rather,  that  state  of  feeling  itself  re- 
quires explanation.  In  the  scattered  fragments  of  pre- 
ceding sects,  notably  of  the  Petrobrusians,  soil  was  found 
most  favorable  for  the  propagation  of  the  teachings  of 
Waldo.  The  Waldenses,  in  their  earlier  history,  appear 
to  be  little  else  than  Petrobrusians  under  a  different  name. 
For,  though  there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  Waldo  him- 
self owed  nothing  to  Peter  of  Bruys,  but  arrived  at  the 
truth  independently,  he  at  once  became  the  spiritual  heir 
of  his  predecessor  and  namesake,  and  carried  on  the 
same  work.     The  doctrines  of  the  early  Waldenses  are 


THE   OLD   EVANGELICAL    PARTY  I23 

substantially  identical  with  those  of  the  Petrobrusians, 
the  persecutors  of  both  being  witnesses.  For  example, 
Roman  writers  before  1350  attribute  the  following  errors 
to  the  Waldenses : 

1.  Regarding  the  Scriptures.  Their  enemies  charge 
the  Waldenses  with  holding  these  errors :  "  They  assert 
that  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  without  the 
decrees  of  the  church,  suffices  for  salvation.  They  know 
by  heart  the  New  Testament  and  most  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  the  vulgar  tongue.  They  oppose  the  mystical 
sense  in  the  Scriptures.  They  say  holy  Scripture  has 
the  same  effect  in  the  vulgar  tongue  as  in  the  Latin. 
Everything  preached  which  is  not  to  be  proved  by  the 
text  of  the  Bible  they  hold  to  be  fable."  "  They  neither 
have  nor  receive  the  Old  Testament,  but  the  Gospels,  that 
by  them  they  may  attack  us  and  defend  themselves; 
saying  that  when  the  gospel  came  all  old  things  passed 
away."  But  this,  if  true  at  all,  is  true  only  of  some  of 
the  Waldenses,  for  nothing  is  better  established  than 
that  they  translated  the  whole  Bible  and  received  it  all 
as  authoritative. 

2.  Regarding  baptism.  "  They  say  that  a  man  is  then 
truly  for  the  first  time  baptized  when  he  is  brought  into 
their  heresy.  But  some  say  that  baptism  does  not  profit 
little  children  (parvidos),  because  they  are  never  able 
actually  to  believe."  "  One  argument  of  their  error  is, 
that  they  say  baptism  does  not  profit  little  children  to 
salvation,  who  have  neither  the  motive  nor  the  act  of 
faith,  because,  as  it  is  said  in  the  latter  part  of  Mark, 
'  He  who  will  not  believe  will  be  condemned.'  "  "  Con- 
cerning baptism  they  say  that  the  catechism  is  of  no 
value.  .  .  That  the  washing  given  to  infants  does  not 
profit.  .  .  That  the  sponsors  do  not  understand  what 
they  answer  to  the  priest.  They  do  not  regard 
compaternity,"  i.  e.,  the  relation  of  sponsors, 


124  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

3.  Concerning  the  church.  "  They  say  that  the  Roman 
Church  is  not  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  is  a  church 
of  wicked  ones,  and  it  [that  is,  the  true  church]  ceased 
to  exist  under  Sylvester,  when  the  poison  of  temporal 
things  was  infused  into  the  church.  .  .  All  approved 
customs  of  the  church  of  which  they  do  not  read  in  the 
Gospels  they  despise,  as  the  feast  of  candles,  of  palms, 
the  reconciliation  of  penitents,  adoration  of  the  cross,  the 
feast  of  Easter,  and  they  spurn  the  feasts  of  the  saints  on 
account  of  the  multiplication  of  saints.  And  they  say 
one  day  is  just  like  another,  therefore  they  secretly  work 
on  feast  days."  "  The  Roman  Church  is  the  harlot  of 
Babylon,  and  all  who  obey  it  are  condemned.  .  .  They 
affirmed  that  they  alone  were  the  church  of  Christ  and 
the  disciples  of  Christ.  That  they  are  the  sucessors  of 
the  apostles  and  have  apostolic  authority."  .  . 

4.  Concerning  purgatory.  "  They  say  there  is  no 
purgatory,  but  all  dying  immediately  go  either  to  heaven 
or  to  hell.  They  assert  that  prayers  offered  by  the 
church  for  the  dead  do  not  avail;  for  those  in  heaven 
do  not  need  them,  and  those  in  hell  are  not  at  all  as- 
sisted. They  say  that  the  saints  in  heaven  do  not  hear 
the  prayers  of  the  faithful,  nor  the  praises  by  which  we 
honor  them.  They  argue  earnestly  that  since  the  bodies 
of  the  saints  lie  here  dead,  and  their  spirits  are  so  far 
removed  from  us  in  heaven,  they  can  by  no  means  hear 
our  prayers.  They  say  also  that  the  saints  do  not  pray 
for  us,  and  therefore  we  ought  not  to  implore  their 
prayers ;  because,  absorbed  in  heavenly  joy,  they  cannot 
take  heed  of  us  or  care  for  anything  else."  "  Whenever 
any  sinner  repents,  however  great  and  many  the  sins  he 
has  committed,  if  he  dies  he  immediately  rises  [i.  e.,  to 
heaven].  .  .  They  assert  that  there  is  no  purgatorial 
fire  except  in  the  present,  nor  do  the  prayers  of  the 
church  profit  the  dead  nor  does  anything  done  for  them," 


THE    OLD    EVANGELICAL    PARTY  I25 

5.  Regarding  the  Mass.  "  They  do  not  beheve  it  to 
be  really  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  but  only  bread 
blessed,  which  by  a  certain  figure  is  said  to  be  the  body 
of  Christ ;  as  it  is  said,  '  But  the  rock  was  Christ,'  and 
similar  passages.  But  this  blessing,  some  say,  can  only 
be  performed  by  the  good,  but  others  say  by  all  who 
know  the  words  of  consecration.  .  .  They  observe 
this  in  their  conventicles,  reciting  those  words  of  the^ 
Gospels  at  their  table  and  participating  together  as  in 
the  supper  of  Christ."  "  Concerning  the  sacrament  of 
the  Eucharist  they  say  that  priests  in  mortal  sin  cannot 
make  [the  body  of  Christ].  They  say  that  transubstan- 
tiation  does  not  take  place  in  the  hands  of  the  unworthy 
maker,  but  in  the  mouth  of  the  worthy  receiver,  and  can 
be  made  on  a  common  table.  .  .  Again  they  say  that 
transubstantiation  takes  place  by  words  in  the  vernacu- 
lar. .  .  They  say  that  the  holy  Scripture  has  the  same 
effect  in  the  vulgar  tongue  as  in  the  Latin,  whence  they 
make  [the  body  of  Christ]  in  the  vulgar  tongue  and  give 
the  sacraments.  .  .  They  say  that  the  church  singing 
is  infernal  clamor." 

It  seems  evident,  by  comparing  these  reports,  that  some 
of  the  Roman  writers  did  not  clearly  comprehend  the 
Waldensian  doctrine ;  according  to  others,  the  Waldenses 
did  not  believe  in  transubstantiation  at  all,  but  they  did 
believe  that  the  Lord's  Supper  should  be  celebrated  in  the 
vernacular.  As  for  calling  singing  "  infernal  clamor," 
the  reference  is  evidently  to  the  singing  of  the  mass  by  the 
priests,  and  to  the  use  of  Latin  hymns,  not  an  objec- 
tion to  singing  per  se.  That  the  latter  cannot  be  meant 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  first  literature  of  the 
Waldenses  took  the  form  of  hymns. 

Other  less  serious  heresies  are  alleged:  as  that  the 
followers  of  Waldo  all  preached  without  ordination ;  that 
they  declared  the  pope  to  be  the  head  of  all  errors ;  that 


126  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

confession  was  to  be  made  to  God  alone ;  that  they  ab- 
horred the  sign  of  the  cross.  Also  we  find  attributed 
to  them  certain  tenets  that  were  afterward  characteristic 
of  the  Anabaptists ;  such  as,  "  In  no  case,  for  any  neces- 
sity or  usefulness  must  one  swear  " ;  and  "  For  no  reason 
should  one  slay." 

In  the  face  of  all  but  unanimous  testimony  of  Roman 
authorities,  it  has  been  denied  that  the  early  Waldenses 
rejected  infant  baptism.  Stress  is  laid  on  the  fact  that  in 
the  earliest  of  their  literature  that  has  come  down  to  us 
the  Waldensians  are  Pedobaptists,  or  at  least  do  not  op- 
pose infant  baptism.  It  is  also  an  unquestioned  fact  that 
the  later  Waldensians — those  who  found  a  refuge  in  the 
valleys  of  Savoy  after  the  crusade  of  Simon  de  Montfort 
in  Southern  France — are  found  to  be  Pedobaptists  at  the 
earliest  authentic  period  of  their  history.  But  all  this 
is  not  necessarily  inconsistent  with  the  accounts  of  the 
sect  as  given  us  by  contemporary  Romanists.  Nearly 
three  hundred  years  elapsed  between  the  crusade  and  the 
Reformation,  and  during  these  centuries  the  escaped 
Waldenses  dwelt  among  the  high  valleys  of  Eastern 
France  and  Savoy,  isolated  and  forgotten.  Great  ignor- 
ance came  upon  them,  as  is  testified  by  the  literature  that 
has  survived,  and  in  time  they  so  far  forgot  the  doctrines 
of  their  forefathers  that  many  of  the  writers  saw  but 
little  difference  between  themselves  and  the  Romanists. 
Some  of  the  old  spirit  remained,  however,  so  that  when 
in  1532  a  Pedobaptist  creed  was  adopted  at  the  Synod 
of  Angrogne,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Swiss  reformers, 
Farel  and  Qicolampadius,  a  large  minority  refused  to  be 
bound  by  this  new  creed,  declaring  it  to  be  a  reversal 
of  their  previous  beliefs.  That  they  were  correct  in  this 
interpretation  is  the  verdict  of  modern  scholars  who  have 
thoroughly  investigated  the  earlier  Waldensian  history. 

The  balance  of  evidence  is  therefore  clearly  in  favor 


THE   OLD    EVANGELICAL    PARTY  1 27 

of  the  conclusion  that  the  early  followers  of  Waldo 
taught  and  practised  the  baptism  of  believers  only.  Dr. 
Keller,  the  latest  and  most  candid  investigator  of  the  sub- 
ject, holds  this  view :  "  Very  many  Waldenses  considered, 
as  we  know  accurately,  the  baptism  on  [profession  of] 
faith  to  be  that  form  which  is  conformable  with  the 
words  and  example  of  Christ.  They  held  this  to  be  the 
sign  of  the  covenant  of  a  good  conscience  with  God,  and 
it  was  certain  to  them  that  it  had  value  only  as  such." 
This  belief  would  logically  exclude  infant  baptism,  and 
accordingly  Dr.  Keller  tells  us,  "  Mostly  they  let  their 
children  be  baptized  [by  Romish  priests?],  yet  with  the 
reservation  that  this  ceremony  was  null  and  void."  Main- 
taining these  views,  they  were  the  spiritual  ancestors  of 
the  Anabaptist  churches  that  sprang  up  all  over 
continental  Europe  in  the  early  years  of  the  Reformation. 
The  history  of  the  Waldenses  is  a  tale  of  bitter  and 
almost  continuous  persecution.  Waldo  himself  is  said  to 
have  died  in  or  about  the  year  1217,  but  if  he  lived  so 
long  he  must  have  seen  his  followers  everywhere  pro- 
scribed, yet  everywhere  increasing.  In  1183,  at  the 
Council  of  Verone,  Pope  Lucian  III.  issued  a  decree  of 
perpetual  anathema  against  various  heretics,  including 
the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons.  Innocent  III.,  wiser  than  other 
popes,  attempted  to  win  back  the  Waldenses.  One  Du- 
rand,  who  had  been,  or  pretended  to  have  been,  a  Wal- 
densian  preacher,  was  persuaded  at  the  Disputation  of 
Pamiers  (in  the  territory  of  Toulouse)  to  submit  to  the 
church.  He  and  certain  others  submitted  a  confession 
of  their  faith  to  the  pope,  who  approved  it  and  author- 
ized them  to  form  a  religious  order  of  Catholic  poor. 
The  Roman  ecclesiastics,  in  spite  of  Innocent's  repeated 
admonitions  to  them,  never  took  kindly  to  this  order,  and 
this  reaction  did  not  have  the  effect  anticipated.  Inno- 
cent himself  seems  to  have  at  length  abandoned  hope  of 


128  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

reclaiming  the  Waldenses,  and  at  the  Fourth  Lateran 
Council,  of  12 1 5,  their  final  condemnation  was  pro- 
nounced. In  order  to  prevent  the  spread  of  this  and 
other  heresies,  the  Synod  of  Toulouse  (1229)  forbade 
laymen  to  read  vernacular  translations  of  the  Bible,  and 
the  Synod  of  Tarracona  (1234)  even  extended  this 
prohibition  to  the  clergy  also. 

It  does  not  concern  our  present  purpose  to  narrate  at 
more  length  the  story  of  the  cruel  oppressions  to  which 
the  Waldenses  were  thenceforth  subjected.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that,  except  among  the  valleys  of  the  Alps  they  were 
eventually  exterminated  or  driven  to  a  secret  life.  But 
in  the  Alps  and  Northern  Italy  they  have  survived  until 
the  present  day,  and  in  many  parts  of  Europe  they  leav- 
ened the  Roman  Church  so  as  effectually  to  prepare  the 
way  for  the  later  Reformation.  And  it  is  a  curious  and 
instructive  fact  that  the  Anabaptist  churches  of  the  Ref- 
ormation period  were  most  numerous  precisely  where  the 
Waldenses  of  a  century  or  two  previous  had  most  flour- 
ished, and  where  their  identity  as  Waldenses  had  been 
lost.  That  there  was  an  intimate  relation  between  the 
two  movements,  few  doubt  who  have  studied  this  period 
and  its  literature.  The  torch  of  truth  was  handed  on 
from  generation  to  generation,  and  though  it  often  smol- 
dered and  was  even  apparently  extinguished,  it  needed 
but  a  breath  to  blaze  up  again  and  give  light  to  all 
mankind. 


CHAPTER   X 

GREBEL  AND  THE  SWISS  ANABAPTISTS 

THE  origin  of  the  Anabaptists  of  Switzerland  is  ob- 
scure. The  testimony  of  contemporaries  is  that 
they  derived  their  chief  doctrines  from  sects  that  ante- 
dated the  Reformation,  and  this  testimony  is  confirmed 
by  so  many  collateral  proofs  as  to  commend  itself  to 
many  modern  historians.  Vadian,  the  burgomaster  of 
St.  Gall,  and  brother-in-law  to  Conrad  Grebel,  says  of 
the  Anabaptists,  "  They  received  the  dogma  of  baptizing 
from  the  suggestions  of  others."  The  industrious  Fiisslin 
reached  this  opinion :  "  There  were  before  the  Reforma- 
tion people  in  Zurich  who,  filled  with  errors,  gave  birth 
to  the  Anabaptists.  Grebel  was  taught  by  them;  he  did 
not  discover  his  own  doctrines,  but  was  taught  by  others." 
In  our  own  day  impartial  German  investigators  have 
reached  similar  conclusions.     Thus  Dr.  Heberle  writes : 

In  carrying  out  their  fundamental  ideas,  the  party  of  Grebel 
paid  less  attention  to  dogmatics  than  to  the  direction  of  church, 
civil,  and  social  life.  They  urged  the  putting  away  of  all  modes 
of  worship  which  were  unknown  to  the  church  of  the  apostles, 
and  the  restoration  of  the  observance,  according  to  their  institu- 
tion, of  the  two  ceremonies  ordained  by  Christ.  They  contended 
against  the  Christianity  of  worldly  governments,  rejected  the 
salaries  of  preachers,  the  taking  of  interest  and  tithes,  the 
use  of  the  sword,  and  demanded  the  return  of  apostolic 
excommunication  and  primitive  community  of  goods. 

It  is  well  known  that  just  these  principles  are  found  in  the 
sects  of  the  Middles  Ages.  The  supposition  is  therefore  very 
probable  that  between  these  and  the  rebaptizers  of  the  Reforma- 
tion there  was  an  external  historical  connection.  The  possibility 
of  this  as  respects  Switzerland  is  all  the  greater,  since  just  here 
I  129 


130  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

the  traces  of  these  sects,  especially  of  the  Waldenses,  can  be 
followed  down  to  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  But  a  positive 
proof  in  this  connection  we  have  not.  .  .  In  reality  the  ex- 
planation of  this  agreement  needs  no  proof  of  a  real  historical 
union  between  Anabaptists  and  their  predecessors,  for  the  ab- 
stract biblical  standpoint  upon  which  the  one  as  well  as  the  other 
place  themselves  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  prove  a  union  of  the 
two  in  the  above-mentioned  doctrines.^ 

The  utmost  that  can  be  said  in  the  present  state  of 
historical  research  is  that  a  moral  certainty  exists  of  a 
connection  between  the  Swiss  Anabaptists  and  their  Wal- 
densian  and  Petrobrusian  predecessors,  sustained  by 
many  significant  facts,  but  not  absolutely  proved  by  his- 
torical evidence.  Those  who  maintain  that  the  Anabap- 
tists originated  with  the  Reformation  have  some  diffi- 
cult problems  to  solve,  among  others  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  new  leaven  spread,  and  the  wide  territory  that 
the  Anabaptists  so  soon  covered.  It  is  common  to  regard 
them  as  an  insignificant  handful  of  fanatics,  but  abun- 
dant documentary  proofs  exist  to  show  that  they  were 
numerous,  widespread,  and  indefatigable ;  that  their  chief 
men  were  not  inferior  in  learning  and  eloquence  to  any 
of  the  reformers;  that  their  teachings  were  scriptural, 
consistent,  and  moderate,  except  where  persecution  pro- 
duced the  usual  result  of  enthusiasm  and  vagary. 

Another  problem  demanding  solution  is  furnished  by 
the  fact  that  these  Anabaptist  churches  were  not  gradu- 
ally developed,  but  appear  fully  formed  from  the  first — 
complete  in  polity,  sound  in  doctrine,  strict  in  discipline. 
It  will  be  found  impossible  to  account  for  these  phe- 
nomena without  an  assumption  of  a  long-existing  cause. 
Though  the  Anabaptist  churches  appear  suddenly  in  the 
records  of  the  time,  contemporaneously  with  the  Zwing- 
lian  Reformation,  their  roots  are  to  be  sought  farther 
back. 

^"  Jahrbiicher  filr  Deutsche  Theologie,"  1858,  p.  276  seq. 


Page  130 


HlLDKEICH    ZwiNtiLI 


GREBEL  AND  THE   SWISS   ANABAPTISTS  I3I 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Switzerland 
was  the  freest  country  in  Europe — a  confederacy  of  thir- 
teen cantons  and  free  cities,  acknowledging  no  alle- 
giance to  emperor  or  king.  These  cantons  differed  greatly 
in  speech,  customs,  and  form  of  government ;  their  chief 
bond  of  union  was,  in  fact,  hatred  of  their  common  foe, 
the  House  of  Hapsburg.  Zurich  was  governed  by  a 
council  of  two  hundred,  and  the  ultimate  power  rested 
with  the  various  guilds  to  which  the  burghers  belonged. 
It  was,  in  a  word,  a  commercial  oligarchy,  maintaining  a 
republican  form  of  government.  Little  could  be  under- 
taken, certainly  nothing  of  moment  could  be  accom- 
plished, without  the  approval  of  the  council. 

The  Reformation  in  Switzerland  was  quite  independent 
of  the  Lutheran  movement,  though  it  occurred  practi- 
cally at  the  same  time.  Reuchlin  had  given  instruction 
in  the  classics  at  the  University  of  Basel ;  and  Erasmus 
came  to  that  city  in  15 14,  to  get  his  edition  of  the  New 
Testament  printed.  The  study  of  the  original  Scriptures 
in  Hebrew  and  Greek  received  a  great  impetus,  and  the 
result  could  not  long  be  doubtful.  The  Swiss  people  had 
once  been  devoted  adherents  of  the  papacy,  but  knowl- 
edge of  the  corruption  of  the  church  and  the  unworthy 
character  of  prelates  had  penetrated  even  there  and 
greatly  weakened  the  hold  of  the  church  on  the  people. 
The  clergy,  though  not  so  bad  as  in  some  localities,  were 
still  far  from  illustrating  the  virtues  they  preached.  The 
Scripture  seed  fell  into  soil  ready  to  receive  it  and  give  it 
increase. 

The  leader  in  this  reformation  was  Ulric  Zwingli,  born 
in  1484,  at  Wildhaus,  in  the  canton  of  St.  Gall,  edu- 
cated at  the  University  of  Vienna,  a  teacher  at 
Basel  and  then  pastor  at  Glarus  in  1506,  later  at 
Einsiedeln,  and  finally  at  Zurich.  He  was  during 
his  earlier  priesthood  unchaste  and  godless,  like  many  of 


132  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

the  clergy,  but  he  was  led  to  the  study  of  the  Greek 
Testament,  and  God's  grace  touched  his  heart  and  made 
a  new  man  of  him.  His  preaching  became  noted  for 
spiritual  power  and  eloquence.  As  in  Luther's  case,  he 
was  first  brought  into  prominence  by  opposition  to  the 
sale  of  indulgences.  One  Samson,  a  worthy  companion 
to  the  infamous  Tetzel,  came  to  Switzerland  hoping  to 
conduct  a  brisk  traffic  in  indulgences,  and  was  roundly 
rebuked  by  Zwingli :  "  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  has 
said,  '  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.'  Is  it  not,  then,  most 
presumptuous  folly  and  senseless  temerity  to  declare  on 
the  contrary — '  Buy  letters  of  indulgence,  hasten  to 
Rome,  give  to  the  monks,  sacrifice  to  the  priests,  and  if 
thou  doest  these  things  I  absolve  thee  from  thy  sins  ?  ' 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  oblation,  the  only  sacrifice,  the 
only  way." 

As  the  Roman  Church  had  been  established  by  law, 
and  its  priests  were  largely  paid  out  of  the  treasury, 
it  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that,  as  the 
reformation  continued,  the  reformed  church  and  min- 
istry should  also  be  an  appanage  of  the  State.  Zwingli 
was  called  to  Zurich  and  was  kept  in  his  position  there  by 
the  council,  and  as  the  reform  developed  that  body  took 
into  its  hands  the  direction  of  religious  as  well  as  civil 
affairs.  It  probably  occurred  to  few  of  the  worthy 
burghers  that  there  was  any  impropriety  in  this.  In 
1520  the  council  issued  an  order  that  all  pastors  and 
preachers  should  declare  the  pure  word  of  God,  and 
Zwingli  had  announced  as  his  principle  the  rejection  of 
everything  in  doctrine  or  practice  not  warranted  by  the 
Scriptures.  In  a  disputation  held  January  29,  1523,  he 
made  his  appeal  on  all  points  to  the  Scriptures — copies  of 
which  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin  he  had  on  a  table  be- 
fore him.    He  vainly  challenged  his  Catholic  adversaries 


GREBEL  AND   THE   SWISS   ANABAPTISTS  I33 

to  refute  him  from  the  Scriptures,  and  the  council  re- 
newed their  order  that  all  the  preachers  in  the  canton 
should  teach  only  what  was  found  in  the  Scriptures. 

Up  to  this  time  we  find  no  trace  of  the  Anabaptists,  as 
such.  The  reason  evidently  is  that  Zwingli  and  the 
Zurich  Council  were  virtually  Anabaptists  themselves. 
They  had  adopted  the  most  radical  and  revolutionary  of 
Anabaptist  principles,  that  the  Scriptures  should  be  the 
sole  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  that  whatever  the 
Scriptures  do  not  teach  must  be  rejected.  Nor  was 
Zwingli  unconscious  of  what  he  was  doing,  and  he  did  not 
at  first  shrink  from  the  logic  of  his  fundamental  prin- 
ciple. As  he  frankly  confesses,  he  was  for  a  considerable 
time  inclined  to  reject  infant  baptism,  in  obedience  to 
the  fundamental  principle  he  had  adopted  of  accepting 
the  Scriptures  as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and 
rejecting  everything  that  had  no  clear  Scripture  warrant. 
He  had  but  to  go  on  consistently  in  this  way  to  have 
made  the  Zwinglian  Reformation  an  Anabaptist  move- 
ment. But  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plow,  he  suf- 
fered himself  to  look  back.  He  was  in  bondage  to  the 
idea  of  a  State  Church,  a  reformation  that  should  have 
back  of  it  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate,  instead  of 
being  a  spiritual  movement  simply.  But  to  fulfil  this 
ideal,  infant  baptism  was  a  necessity.  The  moment  the 
church  was  made  a  body  consisting  wholly  of  the  regen- 
erate, it  of  necessity  separated  itself  from  the  world. 
The  Zurich  Council  had  supported  the  reform  thus  far, 
but  by  no  means  all  its  members — possibly  not  the  ma- 
jority— were  regenerate  men.  How  far  would  they  sup- 
port a  reform  that  would,  as  a  first  step,  unchurch  them 
and  deprive  their  children  of  the  privilege  (as  they  still 
esteemed  it)  of  baptism?  Such  a  policy  of  reform 
seemed  to  Zwingli  suicide  at  the  very  beginning,  for  he 
could  see  a  possibility  of  success  only  through  the  support 


134  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

of  the  civil  power.  In  this  conviction  is  to  be  found, 
not  only  his  reason  for  breaking  with  the  Anabaptists, 
but  the  secret  of  his  other  mistakes  and  the  cause  of  his 
untimely  death.  He  gained,  it  is  possible,  for  his  ref- 
ormation a  more  immediate  and  outward  success,  only  to 
establish  it  on  a  foundation  of  sand. 

About  the  year  1523,  therefore,  Zwingli  and  some  of 
his  fellow-reformers  came  to  the  parting  of  the  ways. 
Zwingli  thenceforth  developed  conservative  tendencies, 
thought  the  reform  had  gone  far  enough,  and  endeavored 
to  restrain  those  who  were  impatient  for  more  thorough 
work.  A  division  of  sentiment  rapidly  developed  among 
the  hitherto  united  reformers.  A  strong  minority  desired 
to  continue  on  the  line  already  begun,  to  carry  out  con- 
sistently the  principle  already  avowed  that  the  Scriptures 
were  to  be  the  sole  arbiter  in  all  matters  of  faith  and 
practice.  They  pointedly  declared  that  the  Bible  said  no 
more  about  infant  baptism  than  it  said  about  the  mass, 
fasts,  the  invocation  of  saints,  and  other  popish  abomina- 
tions. The  New  Testament  churches,  they  said,  were 
composed  only  of  those  who  gave  credible  evidence  of 
regeneration. 

Up  to  the  time  of  their  separation  on  this  question  of 
infant  baptism,  those  who  afterward  became  Anabaptist 
leaders  were  among  the  most  active  and  trusted  of 
Zwingli's  lieutenants.  This  was  particularly  true  of  Con- 
rad Grebel.  The  son  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  Zurich 
Council,  he  was  socially  a  man  of  more  importance  than 
Zwingli,  whose  father  was  a  peasant  farmer.  In  elo- 
quence, he  appears  to  have  been  little  the  inferior  of  his 
leader,  and  he  is  described  by  Zwingli  himself  as  "  most 
studious,  most  candid,  most  learned."  He  was  born  in 
the  last  decade  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  was  educated 
at  the  universities  of  Vienna  and  Paris.  At  both  insti- 
tutions he  attained  high  rank  among  his  fellows,  but  his 


GREBEL  AND  THE   SWISS   ANABAPTISTS  I35 

life  was  wild  and  dissipated.  Some  time  before  1522  he 
was  converted,  and  from  this  time  on  his  life  was  one  of 
perfect  rectitude  and  piety.  Though  not  a  profound 
scholar,  he  was  a  learned  man  for  his  time,  and  his  views 
regarding  the  church  were  derived  from  careful  study  of 
the  original  Scriptures,  especially  of  the  Greek  New 
Testament. 

Another  of  the  Anabaptist  leaders  was  Felix  Mantz, 
also  a  native  of  Zurich,  the  natural  son  of  a  canon,  lib- 
erally educated,  and  especially  versed  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures.  He  was  the  firm  friend  and  adherent  of 
Zwingli,  until  the  latter  gave  up  his  early  principle  of 
the  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures.  Alantz  could  not  chop 
about  so  easily.  Faithfully  following  the  principle  to  its 
necessary  conclusions,  he  became  convinced  that  the  bap- 
tism of  infants  is  nowhere  authorized  in  Scripture,  but  is, 
on  the  contrary,  excluded  by  the  requirement  of  personal 
faith  as  a  precedent  to  baptism. 

Other  prominent  men  among  the  Anabaptists  were 
George  Blaurock,  a  former  monk,  who  for  his  eloquence 
and  zeal  was  known  as  a  second  Paul ;  Ludwig  Hatzer, 
a  native  of  the  canton  of  St.  Gall,  who  had  studied  at 
Freiburg  and  acquired  a  good  knowledge  of  Hebrew,  and 
had  the  confidence  of  ZwingH  before  he  became  an  Ana- 
baptist; and  Balthaser  HiJbmaier,  of  whose  life  and  labors 
a  more  particular  account  will  be  given  in  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

By  the  beginning  of  1525  the  break  between  Zwingli 
and  his  more  radical  associates  in  the  work  of  reform 
had  become  marked.  Their  opposition  to  infant  baptism 
became  so  vehement  that  at  length  the  council  appointed 
a  public  disputation  January  17th.  Grebel  and  Mantz, 
Hatzer  and  Blaurock,  were  present  and  represented  the 
radical  party,  but  the  council  decided  that  the  victory 
was    with    Zwingli    and    issued    an   order   that    parents 


136  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

should  have  their  children  baptized  at  once,  on  pain  of 
banishment. 

Thus  far  no  reference  is  made  in  the  contemporary 
records  to  Anabaptism.  The  radicals  had  begun  by  sim- 
ply opposing  infant  baptism  and  refusing  to  have  their 
own  children  christened.  They  did  not  at  once  see  that 
this  contention  of  theirs  invalidated  their  own  baptism. 
If  faith  must  precede  baptism,  and  for  that  reason  they 
could  not  conscientiously  permit  their  infants  to  be  bap- 
tized, it  necessarily  followed  that  they  themselves  had 
not  been  baptized.  They  were  not  long  now  in  seeing 
this,  and  from  the  summer  of  1525  we  read  of  rebaptisms. 
At  first  affusion  was  practised,  probably  according  to  the 
common  usage  of  the  Swiss  churches  of  that  day,  but  a 
little  later  immersion  was  adopted  by  some  as  the  baptism 
prescribed  by  Scripture.  The  Swiss  Anabaptists  did  not 
arrive  all  at  once  at  a  full  understanding  of  New  Tes- 
tament practice,  but  were  led  to  it  gradually,  as  they 
were  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  possibly  by  other 
Christians. 

Anabaptism  spread  with  great  rapidity.  Zwingli  and 
the  Council  of  Zurich  became  alarmed,  and  again  hit 
upon  the  expedient  of  a  public  discussion,  on  Novem- 
ber 6.  The  Anabaptists  came,  but  it  is  not  likely  that 
they  expected  a  victory,  knowing  that  Zwingli  was  in- 
flexibly opposed  to  them,  and  that  his  influence  was  all- 
powerful  with  the  council.  Zwingli  brought  forward  the 
arguments  of  which  later  Pedobaptists  have  made  so  free 
use,  that  the  Abrahamic  covenant  is  continued  in  the 
New  Dispensation,  and  that  baptism  replaces  circum- 
cision. The  Anabaptists,  like  Baptists  of  to-day,  argued 
that  there  is  no  command  or  example  for  infant  baptism 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  that  instruction  and  belief 
are  enjoined  before  baptism.  Incidentally,  Zwingli  re- 
proached the  Anabaptists  for  being  separatists ;  to  which 


GREBEL   AND  THE   SWISS   ANABAPTISTS  1 37 

they  made  the  unanswerable  reply  that,  if  they  were  such, 
they  had  as  good  a  right  to  separate  from  him  as  he  had 
to  separate  from  the  pope.  The  council,  however,  made 
an  official  finding  (published  under  date  of  November 
30),  to  the  effect  that  "  each  one  of  the  Anabaptists  hav- 
ing expressed  his  views  without  hindrance,  it  was  found, 
by  the  sure  testimonies  of  holy  Scripture,  both  of  the 
Old  and  the  New  Testaments,  that  Zwingli  and  his  fol- 
lowers had  overcome  the  Anabaptists,  annihilated  Ana- 
baptism,  and  established  infant  baptism."  So  little  confi- 
dence had  the  council  in  this  annihilation  of  Anabaptism, 
in  spite  of  their  swelling  words,  that  they  proceeded  to 
do  what  they  could  to  annihilate  it  by  means  of  the  civil 
power.  On  this  occasion  they  contented  themselves  with 
ordering  all  persons  to  abstain  from  Anabaptism,  and 
baptize  their  young  children.  They  added  this  grim  warn- 
ing: "Whoever  shall  act  contrary  to  the  order,  shall,  as 
often  as  he  disobeys,  be  punished  by  the  fine  of  a  silver 
mark;  and  if  any  shall  prove  disobedient,  we  shall  deal 
with  him  farther  and  punish  him  according  to  his  deserts 
without  further  forgiveness." 

That  this  was  no  light  and  unmeaning  threat,  the  Ana- 
baptists had  immediate  reason  to  know.  Grebel,  Mantz, 
Blaurock,  and  others  prominent  in  the  movement,  were 
summoned  before  the  council  and  commanded  to  retract 
their  errors;  on  refusal  they  were  thrown  into  prison 
loaded  with  chains,  and  kept  there  several  months.  Hiib- 
maier,  who  had  been  compelled  to  seek  a  refuge  in  the 
canton,  was  thrown  into  prison  also ;  and  there  sick  and 
weak,  he  yielded  for  the  moment  and  consented  to  make 
a  public  recantation.  When  brought  into  the  pulpit, 
however,  his  spirit  reasserted  itself,  and  instead  of  pro- 
nouncing his  recantation,  he  made  an  address  declaring 
his  opposition  to  infant  baptism  and  defending  rebaptism. 
His  amazed  and  disappointed  hearers  unceremoniously 


138  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

hustled  him  back  to  his  prison,  and  by  prolonged  im- 
prisonment and  tortures  at  length  extracted  from  him 
a  written  recantation.  This  was  only  a  weakness  of  the 
flesh,  that  is  no  more  honorable  to  Zwingli  and  his  fol- 
lowers than  to  Hiibmaier.  On  his  release,  he  resumed 
his  Anabaptism  and  remained  faithful  to  his  convictions 
until  his  death. 

It  would  be  a  painful  and  useless  task  to  detail  the 
cruelties  that  followed.  No  persecution  was  ever  more 
gratuitous  and  unfounded.  Some  of  its  later  apologists 
have  alleged  that  it  was  more  political  than  religious,  that 
it  was  a  necessary  measure  to  protect  the  State  from 
seditious  persons.  It  is  sufficient  to  reply  that  contem- 
porary records  make  no  charge  of  sedition  against  the 
Anabaptists.  They  were  condemned  for  Anabaptism, 
and  for  nothing  else ;  the  record  stands  in  black  and 
white  for  all  men  to  read.  The  Zwinglians  found  that 
having  once  undertaken  to  suppress  what  they  declared 
to  be  heresy  by  physical  force,  more  stringent  remedies 
than  fines  and  imprisonments  were  needed.  In  short,  if 
persecution  is  to  be  efficient  and  not  ridiculous,  there  is 
no  halting-place  this  side  of  the  sword  and  the  stake. 
The  Zwinglians  did  not  lack  courage  to  make  their  re- 
pressive measures  effectual.  On  March  7,  1526,  it  was 
decreed  by  the  Zurich  Council  that  whosoever  rebaptized 
should  be  drowned,  and  this  action  was  confirmed  by  a 
second  decree  of  November  19.  Felix  IMantz,  who  had 
been  released  for  a  time  and  had  renewed  his  labors  at 
Schaffhausen  and  Basel,  was  rearrested  on  December  3, 
found  guilty  of  the  heinous  crime  of  Anabaptism,  and 
on  January  5  was  sentenced  to  death  by  drowning. 

This  barbarous  sentence  was  duly  carried  out.  On  the 
way  to  the  place  of  execution,  says  Bullinger  (a  bitterly 
hostile  historian),  "  his  mother  and  brother  came  to  him, 
and  exhorted  him  to  be  steadfast;  and  he  persevered  in 


GREBEL  AND   THE   SWISS  ANABAPTISTS  I39 

his  folly,  even  to  the  end.  When  he  was  bound  upon 
the  hurdle  and  was  about  to  be  thrown  into  the  stream  by 
the  executioner,  he  sang  with  a  loud  voice,  'In  maims  tuas, 
Domine,  commendo  spiritum  meum'  ('into  thy  hands, 
O  Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit')  ;  and  herewith  was  drawn 
into  the  water  and  drowned."  No  wonder  Capito  wrote 
to  Zvvingli  from  Strasburg :  "  It  is  reported  here  that 
your  Felix  jMantz  has  suffered  punishment  and  died  glori- 
ously; on  which  account  the  cause  of  truth  and  piety, 
which  you  sustain,  is  greatly  depressed." 

If  anything  could  depress  the  Zwinglian  movement,  one 
would  think  it  would  be  this  brutal  treatment  of  those 
whose  only  fault  was  that  they  had  been  consistent  where 
Zwingli  himself  had  been  inconsistent,  in  keeping  close 
to  New  Testament  teaching  and  precedent.  About  two 
years  later  Jacob  Faulk  and  Henry  Rieman,  having  firmly 
refused  to  retract,  but  rather  having  expressed  their  de- 
termination to  preach  the  gospel  and  rebaptize  converts 
if  released,  were  sentenced  to  death,  taken  to  a  little 
fishing-hut  in  the  middle  of  the  river  Limat,  where,  says 
Bullinger,  "  they  were  drawn  into  the  water  and 
drowned." 

For  these  persecutions  Zwingli  stands  condemned  be- 
fore the  bar  of  history.  As  the  burning  of  Servetus  has 
left  an  eternal  stain  on  the  good  name  of  Calvin,  in  spite 
of  all  attempts  to  explain  away  his  responsibility  for  the 
dark  deed,  so  the  drowning  of  Mantz  is  a  damning  blot 
on  Zwingli's  career  as  a  reformer.  All  the  perfumes  of 
Arabia  will  not  sweeten  the  hand  that  has  been  stained 
with  the  blood  of  one  of  Christ's  martyrs.  If  Zwingli 
did  not  take  an  active  part  in  the  condemnation  of  Mantz, 
if  he  did  not  fully  approve  the  savage  measures  of  the 
council,  he  did  approve  of  the  suppression  of  Anabap- 
tism  by  the  civil  power.  There  is  no  record  of  protest 
of  his,  by  voice  or  pen,  against  the  barbarous  cruelties 


140  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

inflicted  in  the  name  of  pure  religion  on  so  many  of 
God's  people,  though  his  influence  would  have  been  all- 
powerful  in  restraining  the  council  from  passing  their 
persecuting  edicts.  He  cannot  be  acquitted,  therefore,  of 
moral  complicity  in  this  judicial  murder.  Though  not 
personally  a  persecutor,  he  stood  by,  like  Saul  at  the 
stoning  of  Stephen,  approving  by  silence  all  that  was 
done. 

Grebel  was  spared  the  fate  of  Mantz  by  an  untimely 
death.  His  fiery  spirit  made  him  a  natural  leader  of 
men,  and  at  Schaffhausen,  at  St.  Gall,  at  Hinwyl,  and  at 
many  other  places,  he  preached  the  gospel  with  great 
power  and  gathered  large  numbers  of  converts  into 
churches.  His  labors  continued  little  more  than  three 
years,  and  his  name  appears  in  the  Zurich  records  for 
the  last  time  early  in  March,  1526.  All  that  we  know 
of  him  further  is  that  he  died,  probably  soon  after,  of 
the  pest.  Had  he  lived  a  few  years  longer,  his  fitness 
for  leadership  would  have  given  him  a  large  following 
among  his  countrymen,  the  character  of  the  Swiss  Ref- 
ormation might  have  been  radically  changed,  and  the 
history  of  Switzerland  turned  into  a  new  channel  for  all 
time.  Hiibmaier  was  banished,  to  meet  his  martyrdom 
elsewhere.  Blaurock  was  burned  at  the  stake  at  Claus- 
sen,  in  the  Tyrol,  in  1529.  Hatzer,  driven  out  of  Zurich, 
went  to  Strassburg  for  a  time,  but  being  banished  thence 
made  his  way  to  Constance,  where  he  was  apprehended, 
imprisoned  for  four  months  and  then  put  to  death.  The 
formal  charge  against  him  was  bigamy.  He  is  said  in 
some  accounts  to  have  had  twenty-four  wives,  according 
to  others  he  had  nineteen,  while  some  content  themselves 
with  saying  vaguely  "  a  great  many."  In  the  trial  record 
at  Constance  he  is  said  to  have  confessed  that  he  mar- 
ried his  wife's  maid  while  his  wife  still  lived.  There  is 
not  a  line  of  confirmatory  evidence  in  the  correspondence 


GREBEL  AND  THE  SWISS  ANABAPTISTS  I4I 

between  Zwingli  and  his  friends  at  Constance,  nor  in 
a  contemporary  account  of  Hatzer's  last  moments  by 
an  eye-witness.  His  death  was  after  a  godly  manner, 
and  the  account  says :  "  A  nobler  and  more  manful  death 
was  never  seen  in  Constance.  He  suffered  with  greater 
propriety  than  I  had  given  him  credit  for.  They  who 
knew  not  that  he  was  a  heretic  and  an  Anabaptist  could 
have  observed  nothing  in  him.  .  .  May  the  Almighty, 
the  Eternal  God,  grant  to  me  and  to  the  servants  of  his 
word  like  mercy  in  the  day  when  he  shall  call  us  home." 

This  is  not  the  way  in  which  adulterers  and  vulgar 
scoundrels  die.  Dr.  Keller  pronounces  the  charge 
against  Hatzer  "  an  unproved  and  unprovable  statement." 
Resting  as  it  does  on  an  [alleged]  confession  that  is 
wholly  unconfirmed,  the  official  charge  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  calumny  invented  to  conceal  the  fact  that  there  was 
no  fault  found  in  him  save  that  he  was  an  Anabaptist. 

Thus  one  by  one  the  leaders  were  killed  or  driven 
away  or  died  by  natural  causes.  By  this  means  the  per- 
secutors at  length  attained  their  end.  Though  persecu- 
tion at  first  increased  the  number  of  Anabaptists,  they 
were  for  the  most  part  plain,  unlettered  folk,  rich  in 
nothing  else  than  faith,  and  little  able  to  hold  out  un- 
aided and  unled  against  a  persecution  so  bitter  and  de- 
termined. Gradually  the  Anabaptists  disappeared  from 
the  annals  of  Zurich,  but  not  without  having  left  the 
impress  of  their  character  on  the  people. 

While  the  canton  of  Zurich  was  measurably  successful 
in  suppressing  the  Anabaptist  movement,  it  proved  to 
have  a  greater  quality  of  permanence  elsewhere.  The 
Anabaptists  of  Bern  are  less  prominent  during  the  time  of 
Zwingli  than  those  of  Zurich,  perhaps  because  there  was 
no  reformer  at  Bern  of  the  ability  and  literary  activity 
manifested  by  Zwingli  at  Zurich  and  by  Qicolampadius 
at  Basel.     There  is  even  better  reason  than  the  history 


142  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

of  the  Zurich  movement  discloses  for  supposing  that 
these  Anabaptists  were  the  direct  descendants  of  the 
Waldensian  groups  that  for  two  or  three  centuries  had 
leavened  parts  of  Switzerland  with  their  influence. 

Except  that  we  have  less  explicit  accounts  of  the 
formal  organization  of  the  sect,  the  history  of  the  Ber- 
nese Anabaptists  is  precisely  parallel  with  that  of  their 
Zurich  brethren,  down  to  the  disappearance  of  the  latter. 
There  appears  to  be  no  essential  difference  in  doctrine 
and  practice,  if  we  except  the  fact  that  no  evidence  of 
immersion  is  found  in  Bern.  There  is  the  same  active, 
relentless  persecution  by  the  council,  but  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  the  death  penalty  was  inflicted  in  this  canton. 
But  the  result  of  these  persecutions  was  very  different 
from  what  we  have  found  in  Zurich.  The  Bern  Ana- 
baptists had  less  able  leaders  at  first,  and  consequently 
may  have  been  less  dependent  upon  leadership.  What  is 
certain  is  that  the  Bernese  authorities  themselves  regret- 
fully recognized  the  impotence  of  their  persecuting 
measures  to  suppress  the  movement.  Causes  for  the  in- 
crease of  these  people,  rather  than  their  diminution,  were 
found  by  contemporaries  in  the  lax  enforcement  of  the 
laws  by  magistrates ;  in  the  lack  of  pious  and  godly  liv- 
ing among  the  ministers  and  people  of  the  town ;  and  in 
the  failure  of  discipline  in  the  churches.  The  Anabaptists 
are  acknowledged  to  be  more  sober,  God-fearing,  and 
honest  than  others,  and  their  preachers  expounded  the 
Scriptures  more  faithfully.  Nevertheless,  it  was  believed 
that  such  people  as  these  were  dangerous  and  should  not 
be  tolerated. 

Persecution  of  the  Anabaptists  in  Bern  continued  dur- 
ing the  seventeenth  century,  and  through  the  influence 
of  their  fellow-believers  in  Holland,  the  Mennonites,  the 
Dutch  government  several  times  intervened  to  secure  lib- 
erty of  conscience  for  these  long-suffering  people.    There 


GREBEL  AND  THE  SWISS  ANABAPTISTS  I43 

were  not  wanting  also  Swiss  Christians  to  protest  against 
the  inhuman  and  un-Christian  policy  of  the  government. 
Though  these  efforts  were  not  immediately  successful, 
the  persecutions  grew  less  severe  with  each  successive 
generation  and  in  the  eighteenth  century  gradually 
ceased. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  large  numbers  of  the  Ber- 
nese Anabaptists  had  emigrated  in  order  to  escape  their 
bitter  persecutions.  Not  a  few  came  to  America.  The 
colony  that  settled  in  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  from  17 15 
onward,  though  commonly  called  Mennonites,  was  com- 
posed largely  of  these  refugees  from  Bern.  Others  set- 
tled in  the  Palatinate  and  other  German  States  in  which 
some  measure  of  toleration  was  allowed.  But  a  consid- 
erable number  refused  to  leave  their  native  land,  endured 
all  the  persecutions,  and  their  descendants  are  found  in 
Bern  to  this  day.  Still  called  Wiedertduffer  (Anabap- 
tists) and  sometimes  simply  T duffer  (Baptists),  they 
hold  the  precise  doctrines  of  the  medieval  evangelicals, 
and  the  practices  of  the  sixteenth  century  Anabaptists. 
They  baptize  only  believers,  but  most  of  them  still  prac- 
tise affusion,  though  the  practice  of  immersion  is  said  to 
be  spreading  among  them.  They  refuse  to  bear  arms 
and  prohibit  oaths.  A  part  of  them  formed  a  separate 
body  in  1830,  and  are  known  as  New  Baptists,  because 
they  practise  immersion  exclusively.  Eight  of  the  older 
congregations  are  members  of  a  Conference,  or  Asso- 
ciation, which  meets  semi-annually,  but  there  are  some 
other  churches  not  members  of  this  body.  They  publish 
a  paper  called  "  Zion's  Pilger,"  and  there  seems  every 
prospect  that  they  will  continue  to  increase  in  numbers 
and  influence. 

The  teachings  of  the  Swiss  Anabaptists  are  accurately 
known  to  us  from  three  independent  and  mutually  con- 
firmatory sources :  The  testimony  of  their  opponents,  the 


144  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF  THE    BAPTISTS 

fragments  of  their  writings  that  remain,  and  their  Con- 
fession of  Faith.  The  latter  is  the  first  document  of  its 
kind  known  to  be  in  existence.  It  was  issued  in  1527  by 
the  "  brotherly  union  of  certain  believing,  baptized  chil- 
dren of  God,"  assembled  at  Schleitheim,  a  little  village 
near  Schafifhausen.  The  author  is  conjectured  to  have 
been  Michael  Sattler,  of  whom  we  know  little  more  than 
that  he  was  an  ex-monk,  of  highly  esteemed  character, 
who  suffered  martyrdom  at  Rothenberg  in  the  same  year 
this  confession  was  issued,  his  tongue  being  torn  out,  his 
body  lacerated  with  red-hot  tongs,  and  then  burned. 

The  Confession  is  not  a  complete  system  of  doctrine, 
but  treats  the  following  topics :  baptism,  excommunica- 
tion, breaking  of  bread,  separation  from  abominations, 
shepherds  in  the  congregation,  sword  (civil  government), 
oaths.  It  teaches  the  baptism  of  believers  only,  the 
breaking  of  bread  by  those  alone  who  have  been  bap- 
tized, and  inculcates  a  pure  church  discipline.  It  for- 
bids a  Christian  to  be  a  magistrate,  but  does  not  absolve 
him  from  obedience  to  the  civil  law ;  it  pronounces  oaths 
sinful.  With  the  exception  of  the  last  two  points — in 
which  the  modern  Friends  have  followed  the  Anabaptists 
in  interpreting  the  Scriptures — the  Schleitheim  Con- 
fession corresponds  with  the  beliefs  avowed  by  Baptist 
churches  to-day.  It  is  significant  that  what  is  opprobri- 
ously  called  "  close "  communion  is  found  to  be  the 
teaching  of  the  oldest  Baptist  document  in  existence. 

With  this  Confession  agrees  the  testimony  of  Zwingli 
and  other  bitter  opponents  of  the  Anabaptists.  The  only 
fault  charged  against  them  by  their  contemporaries,  that 
is  supported  by  evidence,  is  that  they  had  the  courage 
and  honesty  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  as  Baptists  to-day 
interpret  them.  Of  their  deep  piety  there  is  as  little  doubt 
as  there  is  of  the  cruelty  with  which  that  piety  was 
punished  as  a  crime  against  God  and  man. 


CHAPTER   XI 

ANABAPTISM   IN  GERMANY 

THE  name  Anabaptist  stands  in  the  literature  of  the 
Lutheran  Reformation  as  a  synonym  for  the  ex- 
tremest  errors  of  doctrine,  and  the  wildest  excesses  of 
conduct.  The  Anabaptists  were  denounced  by  their  con- 
temporaries, Romanist  and  Protestant  alike,  with  a  rhet- 
oric so  sulphurous  that  an  evil  odor  has  clung  to  the 
name  ever  since.  H  one  were  to  believe  the  half  that  he 
reads  about  these  heretics,  he  would  be  compelled  to  think 
them  the  most  depraved  of  mankind.  Nothing  was  too 
vile  to  be  ascribed  to  them,  nothing  was  too  wicked  to 
be  believed  about  them— nothing,  in  fact,  was  incredible, 
except  one  had  described  them  as  God-fearing,  pious  folk, 
studious  of  the  Scriptures,  and  obedient  to  the  will  of 
their  Lord,  as  that  will  was  made  known.  The  masses 
of  the  Anabaptists,  as  of  the  Lutherans,  were  uncultured 
people;  but  among  their  leaders  were  men  unsurpassed 
in  their  times  for  knowledge  of  the  original  Scriptures, 
breadth  of  mind,  and  fervidness  of  eloquence.  Historians 
of  their  own  land  and  race  are  beginning  to  do  these 
men  tardy  justice.  The  day  is  not  far  distant  when 
historical  scholarship  will  prepare  a  complete  vindication 
of  the  men  so  maligned.  In  the  meantime,  enough  is 
already  known  to  set  right  many  erroneous  statements 
that  have  been  handed  down  from  historian  to  historian 
for  centuries,  and  accepted  as  undoubtedly  true  without 
re-investigation. 

As  in  Switzerland,  so  in  Germany,  hardly  had  the  Ref- 
ormation begun  when  we  find  mention  of  Anabaptists. 
K  145 


146  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

But  there  is  this  difference:  while  the  name  in  Swit- 
zerland denoted  a  party  essentially  homogeneous  in 
faith  and  practice,  the  name  Anabaptist  is  applied  in 
Germany  to  men  of  widely  divergent  views  and  acts.  It 
was,  in  fact,  a  convenient  epithet  of  opprobrium,  care- 
lessly bestowed  by  the  dominant  party  on  those  who 
opposed  them  and  so  aroused  their  displeasure.  Just  as 
now  anybody  who  holds  advanced  views  about  the  State 
and  its  functions,  thereby  differing  from  the  orthodox 
political  faith,  is  called  by  hasty  and  superficial  people 
"anarchist"  or  "socialist"  (though  he  may  repudiate 
both  titles),  so  then  anybody  who  dissented  from  ortho- 
doxy and  would  not  conform  to  the  State  Church  was 
likely  to  be  called  "  Anabaptist."  Many  who  are  called 
by  this  title  in  Reformation  literature  were  never  Ana- 
baptists, but  practised  Pedobaptism  as  consistently  as  any 
Lutheran  or  Romanist  of  them  all.  Others  who  were 
so  far  Anabaptists  as  to  have  rejected  infant  baptism, 
had  not  grasped  the  principle  on  which  rejection  of  infant 
baptism  properly  rests,  the  spiritual  constitution  of  the 
church. 

Even  when  the  name  Anabaptist  is  properly  applied,  it 
does  not  necessarily  connote  evangelical  beliefs  and  prac- 
tice. Any  Christians  who  have  re-baptized,  for  what- 
ever reason,  may  be  called  by  that  title.  The  Donatists 
were  Anabaptists,  but  they  baptized  those  who  came  to 
them  because  of  a  supposed  defect  in  the  "  orders  "  of 
the  Catholic  priesthood.  Baptists  have  affinity  only  with 
such  Anabaptists  as  hold  to  the  theory  of  a  regenerate 
church,  reject  infant  baptism  as  a  nullity,  and  re-baptize 
on  profession  of  faith  those  baptized  in  unconscious  in- 
fancy. These  distinctions  must  be  borne  in  mind  by 
one  who  would  read  intelligently  about  the  German 
Anabaptists. 

The  seemingly  sudden  appearance  of  the  Anabaptists 


ANABAPTISM  IN  GERMANY  I47 

and  their  rapid  growth  in  Germany  is  a  remarkable  phe- 
nomenon— one  of  the  strangest  tilings  in  liistory  if  we  re- 
fuse to  look  below  the  surface.  Some  historians  insist 
that  the  Anabaptists  had  no  previous  existence ;  that  it  is 
in  vain  to  look  back  of  the  first  mention  of  them  for 
their  origin.  But  this  is  to  say  that  an  event  occurred 
without  an  adequate  cause.  No  sect  or  party  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  ever  made  such  an  extraordinary 
growth  as  the  Anabaptists  made  during  the  early  years 
of  the  Reformation  unless  it  had  a  previous  history. 
We  have  seen  in  previous  chapters  how  Central  Europe 
was  leavened  by  evangelical  teachings.  The  writings  of 
the  medieval  Fathers  are  full  of  complaints  of  the  ex- 
tent to  which  the  various  heresies  had  corrupted  the 
people.  Making  all  due  allowance  for  exaggeration 
(where  there  was  little  temptation  to  exaggerate  and 
nothing  whatever  to  be  gained  by  it)  the  conclusion  can- 
not be  resisted  that  the  persistence  of  what  the  Catholic 
Church  pronounced  heresy,  but  what  we  should  call  evan- 
gelical truth,  was  complete  throughout  Central  Europe 
during  the  three  centuries  preceding  the  Reformation. 
This  truth  was  doubtless  mixed  with  no  little  error,  in 
some  cases,  but  error  less  deadly  than  that  taught  by 
the  Roman  Church.  For,  with  all  their  deviations  from 
the  gospel  truth,  the  heretical  sects  taught  a  spiritual 
religion,  not  a  religion  of  forms  and  ceremonies — they 
were  loyal  to  the  idea  of  salvation  by  faith,  not  salvation 
by  works.  The  name  Anabaptist  we  do  not  meet,  as 
applied  to  any  of  these  sects  before  the  Reformation ; 
but  the  Anabaptist  party  of  the  Reformation  period  had 
its  roots  in  these  preexistent  sects,  and  found  in  their 
remnants  the  materials  for  its  surprising  growth.  To 
doubt  this  is,  as  before  remarked,  to  assume  that  so 
great  a  result — almost  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 
Christianity — had  no  adequate  cause,  which  is  irrational. 


148  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

It  is  commonly  said  that  the  first  appearance  of  Ana- 
baptism  in  Germany  was  in  1521,  at  Zwickau,  on  tlie 
border  of  Bohemia.  Certain  "  prophets  "  here  made  a 
great  stir.  These  prophets  were  Nicholas  Storch,  a 
weaver,  but  a  man  of  marked  ability  and  well  versed  in 
the  Scriptures ;  Marcus  Stiibner,  who  had  been  a  student 
at  Wittenberg;  and  Marcus  Thoma,  evidently  a  man  of 
some  learning,  since  a  letter  written  in  Latin  is  extant, 
in  which  he  is  addressed  as  "a  learned  man"  (erudito 
viro).  Of  Thomas  Miinzer,  the  writer  of  the  letter, 
we  shall  see  more  hereafter;  it  suffices  the  present  pur- 
pose to  say  that  he  joined  himself  to  these  prophets  for 
ends  of  his  own,  and  that  though  with  them  for  a  time, 
he  was  never  of  them. 

The  prophets  being  driven  out  of  Zwickau,  made  their 
way  to  Wittenberg,  where  Carlstadt  and  Melanchthon 
received  them  with  favor;  but  Luther  was  greatly  dis- 
turbed by  their  ascendency,  returned  from  his  "  cap- 
tivity "  at  the  Wartburg,  and  by  preaching  a  series  of 
violent  sermons  recovered  the  direction  of  affairs.  The 
prophets  accordingly  had  to  depart,  and  we  hear  little 
more  of  them.  Ever  since  it  has  been  the  fashion  among 
the  church  historians,  following  the  lead  of  the  Luther- 
ans, to  represent  the  Zwickau  Anabaptists  as  a  band  of 
fanatics  and  disturbers  of  the  peace,  misled  by  a  belief 
in  their  own  prophetic  inspiration  and  believing  them- 
selves endowed  with  a  gift  of  tongues.  The  contem- 
porary literature,  however,  gives  no  support  to  this  view. 
A  strong  tinge  of  mysticism  is,  indeed,  found  in  their 
reported  teachings,  but  of  fanaticism,  or  encouragement 
of  civil  disorder,  there  is  no  trace.  These  prophets  had 
precisely  such  visions,  opening  to  them  (as  they  believed) 
the  secrets  of  the  spiritual  world,  as  Swedenborg  and 
George  Fox  enjoyed.  They  seem,  indeed,  to  have  been 
the  precursors  of  the  modern  Friends,  so  spiritualizing 


ANABAPTISM  IN  GERMANY  I49 

the  church  as  to  reject  the  priesthood,  water  baptism, 
and  all  outward  ceremonies  of  rehgion.  They  were  not 
Anabaptists,  for  they  did  not  baptize,  yet  tliey  were  at 
one  with  the  Anabaptists  in  holding  that  the  unregenerate 
have  no  place  in  the  church  of  Christ. 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  in  the  present  state  of 
research,  to  set  definite  bounds  for  the  beginning  of 
Anabaptist  churches  in  Germany.  What  we  know  is 
that  two  men  were  influential  above  others  in  promoting 
the  Anabaptist  movement :  Balthasar  Hiibmaier  and  John 
Denck. 

Hiibmaier  w^as  born  about  the  year  1481,  in  Fried- 
burg,  Bavaria.  The  name  of  his  birthplace  (of  which 
the  English  equivalent  would  be  Peacemont),  sometimes 
done  into  Latin  after  the  fashion  of  the  learned  in  those 
days,  furnished  a  surname  often  used  by  him  in  his  writ- 
ings— Friedburger  or  Pacimontanus.  Nothing  definite 
is  known  of  his  family,  whose  name  may  be  taken  to 
imply  that  they  were  small  tenant-farmers.'  The  lad  was 
sent  at  an  early  age  to  the  Latin  school  at  Augsburg, 
and  thence  he  went  to  the  University  of  Freiburg,  where 
he  matriculated  in  1503.  His  studies  here  were  diligent 
and  successful,  but  were  interrupted  by  his  going  to 
Schaffhausen  as  a  teacher,  to  earn  means  to  prosecute 
his  work  at  the  university.  He  returned  and  took  the 
master's  degree  in  151 1.  So  high  was  his  proficiency 
that  he  was  regarded  as  a  promising  young  man,  and 
was  advised  to  study  medicine,  then  a  profitable  career. 
But  he  decided  to  devote  himself  to  theology,  saying: 
"  Her  alone  have  I  chosen,  her  before  all  others  have  I 
selected,  and  for  her  will  I  prepare  a  cell  in  my  heart." 

At  Freiburg  he  met  two  men  who  had  much  to  do 
with  his  subsequent  career.  John  Heigelin,  or  Faber, 
and  John  Meyer,  better  known  as  Eck.     The  former  was 

1  Hiibmaier-Hubel  (provincial  for  Hiigel)  meier,  "the  farmer  of  the  hill," 


150  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

a  fellow-Student,  the  latter  his  most  influential  teacher. 
A  dispute  arose  between  Eck  and  the  faculty  of  the 
university,  and  Hubmaier  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of 
his  teacher  and  friend,  and  followed  Eck  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Ingolstadt  on  his  removal  thither.  Here  Hiib- 
maier's  rise  was  rapid.  He  was  given  a  chair  of  theology 
and  appointed  university  preacher,  and  finally  (1515) 
vice-rector  of  the  university. 

The  crisis  of  his  fate  was  now  at  hand.  In  15 16  he 
was  called  to  be  pastor  at  the  cathedral  of  Ratisbon. 
This  removed  him  from  the  overshadowing  influence  of 
Eck  and  gave  him  chance  for  independent  study  and 
growth  of  character.  He  seems,  even  thus  early,  to  have 
become  an  ardent  and  profound  student  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. As  a  scholar  he  was  the  equal  of  Luther, 
though  not  the  peer  perhaps  of  Melanchthon  and  Eras- 
mus. He  soon  became  renowned  as  one  of  the  most  elo- 
quent preachers  of  his  time.  So  far  as  we  can  know,  he 
led  a  pure  life  and  was  sincerely  pious,  though  still  in 
error.  With  such  talents  there  was  no  position  in  the 
church  to  which  he  might  not  aspire.  But  when  the 
Reformation  began,  it  seems  to  have  appealed  at  once 
to  his  mind,  if  not  to  his  heart ;  and  it  was  not  long  before 
a  brilliant  career  in  the  church  seemed  less  attractive  than 
to  follow  the  truth. 

Resigning  his  position,  he  went  to  Schafifhausen,  where 
he  had  formerly  made  friends,  and  here  he  possibly 
hoped  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  Swiss  Reformation. 
Soon  after  we  find  him  pastor  at  Waldshut,  just  over  the 
Swiss  border  in  the  province  of  Austria.  He  did  not 
for  a  time  break  with  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  observed 
all  the  Catholic  forms  in  his  new  parish.  Whether  he 
had  not  yet  become  fully  convinced  of  Romish  errors, 
or  hesitated  to  make  a  breach  with  the  church,  in  the 
hope  that  it  was  capable  of  a  gradual  reformation,  it 


BaLTHASAR    Hi'BMAIEK 


ANABAPTISM  IN  GERMANY  151 

would  be  profitless  to  guess.  There  is  a  vacillation  about 
his  conduct  just  at  this  part  of  his  life  that  is  difficult 
to  explain  on  any  theory.  He  was  even  recalled  to  Ratis- 
bon,  to  a  new  charge  there,  and  accepted  this  invita- 
tion in  November,  1522,  but  without  resigning  Waldshut, 
to  which  he  returned  the  following  March.  From  this 
time  on  he  seems  definitely  to  have  cast  in  his  lot  with 
the  reformers. 

In  May,  1523,  Hiibmaier  visited  Zurich  and  formed 
a  close  connection  with  Zwingli.  The  latter  was  in  the 
beginning  of  his  career  as  a  reformer,  and  inclined  to  go 
to  the  full  lengths  demanded  by  his  principle  of  making 
the  Scriptures  the  sole  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Hiib- 
maier clearly  perceived  that  this  necessitated  the  aban- 
donment of  infant  baptism,  and  Zwingli  assented.  In  his 
writings  and  sermons  of  this  period  Zwingli  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  make  the  same  avowal.  It  was  not,  however,  for 
two  years  thereafter  that  Hiibmaier  acted  on  that  con- 
clusion, and  by  that  time  Zwingli  had  begun  to  draw 
back  from  it  altogether.  At  the  second  Zurich  disputa- 
tion (October  26,  1523),  Hiibmaier  was,  next  to  Zwingli 
himself,  the  most  prominent  disputant;  and  having  thus 
avowed  himself  a  full  believer  in  the  Reformation,  he 
became  henceforth  its  firm  and  consistent  supporter. 

Hitherto  his  acts  at  Waldshut  had  been  those  of  a 
trimmer,  or,  at  least,  of  one  whose  course  was  undecided. 
On  his  return,  he  submitted  to  the  clergy  and  deanery 
of  Waldshut  eighteen  articles  of  religion,  in  which  he 
upheld  justification  by  faith  alone,  taught  that  the  mass 
is  not  a  sacrifice,  but  simply  a  memorial  of  the  death  of 
Christ,  and  denounced  images,  purgatory,  celibacy  of  the 
clergy,  and  other  Roman  errors.  Only  three  of  thirty 
priests  sided  with  him,  but  he  had  better  success  with 
the  citizens.  He  gradually  began  to  change  the  service, 
first  reading  the  Epistles  and  Gospels  in  German,  and 


152  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

later  giving  the  cup  to  all  communicants.  Some  oppo- 
sition was  roused,  and  just  before  Whitsunday  he  re- 
signed his  office,  but  was  reelected  pastor  by  the  almost 
unanimous  votes  of  the  parish.  The  Bishop  of  Con- 
stance, hearing  of  these  acts,  summoned  Hubmaier  be- 
fore him,  but  no  attention  was  paid  to  the  summons,  the 
reformer  saying,  "  It  would  be  a  little  thing  for  me  to 
stand  before  that  hypocrite."  The  Austrian  Diet,  out- 
raged by  these  proceedings,  demanded  the  surrender  of 
Hiibmaier,  and  though  the  citizens  of  Waldshut  stoutly 
refused  to  give  up  their  pastor,  he  thought  it  better  to 
leave  the  city. 

Accordingly,  August  16,  1524,  he  sought  refuge  at 
Schafifhausen,  where  he  wrote  his  tract,  "  Heretics  and 
those  who  bum  them,"  but  in  November  he  again  re- 
turned to  Waldshut.  It  was  about  this  time  that  he  be- 
came clearly  convinced  that  infant  baptism  is  contrary 
to  the  Scriptures,  as  we  learn  from  a  letter  written 
by  him  to  QLcolampadius,  written  January  16,  1525, 
in  which  there  is  an  elaborate  argument  against  the 
scripturalness  of  infant  baptism. 

About  this  time  he  married  a  daughter  of  a  Waldshut 
citizen,  and  during  Lent  he  abolished  the  mass,  which  up 
to  that  time  he  had  celebrated  in  German,  had  all  pictures 
and  altars  removed  from  the  churches,  and  the  priests 
discarded  vestments  and  wore  henceforth  ordinary  cloth- 
ing. This  was  an  imprudent  step,  no  doubt,  since  it  was 
almost  sure  to  rouse  Austria  to  violent  measures  against 
Waldshut,  but  fidelity  to  the  truth  seemed  to  Hiibmaier 
and  his  followers  to  demand  that  it  be  taken. 

A  still  graver  step  followed.  Up  to  this  time  Hiib- 
maier had,  indeed,  been  an  Anabaptist  in  theory,  but  not 
in  practice.  In  the  spring  of  1525  William  Reublin,  who 
had  been  compelled  to  leave  Switzerland,  came  to  Walds- 
hut,   and    through    his    instructions    Hiibmaier    became 


ANABAPTISM   IN  GERMANY  I53 

convinced,  not  only  that  his  baptism  in  infancy  was  a 
nullity,  but  that  he  ought  to  be  baptized  on  personal 
confession  of  faith.  Others  were  convinced  with  him, 
and  at  Easter  Reublin  baptized  the  Waldshut  pastor  and 
others  (one  authority  says  sixty,  another  one  hundred 
and  ten).  Shortly  after  the  pastor  himself  baptized  three 
hundred  of  his  flock. 

This  action  not  only  made  Hiibmaier's  position  in 
Waldshut  more  difficult,  by  adding  fuel  to  the  flame  of 
Austrian  hatred,  but  speedily  embroiled  him  with  the 
Swiss  reformers.  The  Anabaptists  had  become  very 
troublesome  in  Bern,  and  a  public  disputation  with  them 
was  held  June  5,  1525.  Qicolampadius  claimed  the  vic- 
tory and  published  his  version  of  the  debate.  This  did 
so  little  justice  to  the  arguments  of  the  Anabaptists  that 
Hiibmaier  was  impelled  to  enter  the  lists,  which  he  did 
by  writing  two  tracts :  the  first,  a  dialogue  "  On  the  bap- 
tism of  infants  "  was  not  published  until  some  time  later, 
when  he  had  gone  to  Moravia ;  but  the  other,  "  Concern- 
ing the  Christian  baptism  of  believers,"  appeared  at  once, 
and  had  a  great  effect.  Zwingli  retorted  with  great 
vehemence,  not  to  say  bitterness,  in  his  celebrated  treatise 
on  "  Baptism,  Anabaptism,  and  infant  baptism."  From 
this  time  on  the  Swiss  reformers,  who  had  been  so 
friendly  to  Hiibmaier,  became  his  bitterest  opponents. 

Affairs  in  Waldshut  grew  steadily  worse,  and  a  strong 
Catholic  party  was  formed,  which  favored  surrender  of 
the  city  to  the  Austrians.  Hiibmaier  finally  saw  that  his 
situation  was  an  impossible  one,  and  with  forty-five  of 
his  adherents  sought  safety  in  flight.  December  5,  1525, 
the  city  was  captured  by  Austrian  troops.  Hiibmaier 
made  his  way  to  Zurich,  not  fully  realizing  how  impla- 
cable an  enemy  he  now  had  in  Zwingli,  and  soon  after  his 
arrival  was  seized,  imprisoned,  and  treated  with  great  rig- 
or,    Grebel,  Mantz,  and  Blaurock  had  already  preceded 


154  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

him  to  the  prison,  and  it  was  the  evident  intention 
of  the  authorities  to  suppress  Anabaptism  by  the  most 
vigorous  measures.  A  show  of  fairness  was,  however, 
still  maintained.  A  public  discussion  was  held  December 
21,  at  the  close  of  which  Zwingli  succeeded  in  wringing 
from  the  ill  and  enfeebled  prisoner  a  promise  to  recon- 
sider his  views.  Ambassadors  from  Austria  demanded 
the  surrender  of  Hiibmaier  and,  though  Zurich  refused, 
a  different  decision  was  possible  at  any  time.  Besides,  it 
is  now  certain  that  torture  was  applied.  At  length  a 
written  recantation  was  obtained,  and,  after  a  confine- 
ment of  several  months,  during  which  time  he  was  loaded 
with  heavy  chains,  he  was  released  (June  6,  1526),  on 
condition  that  he  leave  Switzerland. 

He  made  his  way  to  Constance,  thence  to  his  old  resi- 
dences of  Ingoldstadt  and  Ratisbon,  where  friends  re- 
ceived him  kindly.  He  could  not  hope  for  safety  in 
either  of  these  towns,  should  his  presence  become  gen- 
erally known,  and  he  determined  to  seek  an  asylum  in 
Moravia.  About  the  end  of  June  he  arrived  at  Nikols- 
burg,  in  the  domains  of  the  lords  of  Lichtenstein,  nobles 
who  were  known  to  be  humane  and  tolerant.  Here  he 
began  the  most  fruitful  part  of  his  labors.  Though  they 
occupied  not  more  than  fifteen  months,  their  results  were 
astonishing.  He  was  incessant  in  his  work  as  evangelist. 
Lord  Leonhard  of  Lichtenstein  himself  soon  became  an 
Anabaptist,  and  the  sect  grew  with  amazing  rapidity. 
An  unfriendly  historian  estimates  their  numbers  at  this 
time  at  twelve  thousand.  Moravia  had  been  well-sown 
with  gospel  truth  by  Waldenses  and  other  evangelical 
preachers  and  the  field  was  white  to  harvest  when 
Hubmaier  put  in  the  sickle. 

He  was  equally  busy  with  the  pen.  Tract  after  tract, 
not  fewer  than  fifteen  distinct  writings  in  all,  was  written 
and  printed  during  this  period,  and  some  tracts  previously 


ANABAPTISM   IN  GERMANY  155 

composed  now  found  their  way  to  the  pubHc.  They 
were  scattered  broadcast  over  Germany  and  Switzerland, 
and  had  an  intiuence  that  it  would  not  be  easy  to  over- 
estimate. To  this  time  belong  his  treatise  on  the  Lord's 
Supper,  his  reply  to  Zwingli,  his  **  Book  of  the  Sword," 
"  Form  of  Baptism,"  "  Form  of  the  Lord's  Supper," 
"  Freedom  of  the  Human  Will,"  etc.  These  were  dedi- 
cated to  the  lords  of  Lichtenstein  and  other  noble  patrons, 
which  certainly  did  not  hinder  their  circulation. 

Though  for  a  time  there  was  no  external  opposition  to 
this  work  of  Hiibmaier,  it  was  not  without  certain  diffi- 
culties from  within.  Hans  Hut  and  Jacob  Widemann 
were  to  Hiibmaier  what  Hymenaeus  and  Alexander 
were  to  Paul — messengers  of  Satan  to  buffet  him,  thorns 
in  the  flesh.  Hut  was  the  more  mischievous  of  the  two. 
Beginning  as  a  sacristan,  then  an  artisan,  afterwards  im- 
bued with  the  spirit  and  teachings  of  Miinzer,  he  nar- 
rowly escaped  from  Miihlhausen  with  his  life,  to  become 
a  "  prophet,"  a  fanatic,  a  preacher  of  Chiliasm  and  the 
gospel  of  the  sword.  He  proclaimed  the  speedy  end  of 
all  mundane  things,  and  first  set  as  the  date  for  this  final 
event  the  day  of  the  summer  feast  in  1529.  Hiibmaier 
stoutly  resisted  these  men  and  preached  and  wrote 
against  their  false  and  demoralizing  doctrines.  A  disputa- 
tion was  held  in  the  castle  at  Nikolsburg,  but  the  re- 
sult was  not  decisive ;  both  sides,  as  usual,  claiming  the 
victory.  At  length  Hut  was  imprisoned  by  Lord  Licht- 
enstein in  the  castle,  but  made  his  escape  and  preached 
his  doctrines  in  various  parts  of  Germany,  especially  at 
Augsburg,  where  he  was  put  to  death  in  1529.  Not  a 
little  of  the  responsibility  for  the  growth  of  fanaticism 
among  the  Anabaptists  must  be  laid  at  his  door.  The 
unity  of  the  Nikolsburg  church  was  fatally  impaired, 
and  the  way  was  prepared  for  the  final  catastrophe. 

The  Anabaptists  in  Moravia  would  never  have  been 


156  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

unmolested  so  long,  but  that  the  country  was  in  a  most 
disorganized  state.  The  Archduke  Ferdinand  had  suc- 
ceeded in  making  good  his  title  as  Margrave  of  Moravia, 
and  now  determined  to  get  possession  of  Hiibmaier.  Ex- 
actly how  or  when  he  accomplished  his  purpose  we  do 
not  know,  but  as  there  is  no  record  that  the  lords  of 
Lichtenstein  suffered  any  personal  inconvenience  it  has 
been  inferred  that  they  surrendered  the  Anabaptist 
preacher  to  save  themselves.  Not  later  than  September, 
1527,  Hiibmaier  and  his  devoted  wife  were  taken  to 
Vienna  and  tried  for  heresy.  During  the  process  he 
asked  for  an  interview  with  his  old  friend  Faber,  and  the 
latter  reported  that  he  had  made  a  partial  recantation. 
On  March  10,  1528,  he  was  taken  through  the  streets  of 
the  city  to  the  public  square,  and  his  body  was  burned. 
So  died  one  of  the  purest  spirits  of  the  Reformation. 
Three  days  later  his  wife,  who  had  exhorted  him  in  his  last 
hour  to  endure  steadfastly,  was  drowned  in  the  Danube. 

Hiibmaier  was  one  of  the  Anabaptists  against  whom 
his  enemies  bring  no  charge  of  immorality  or  unchristian 
conduct.  We  may  be  sure  they  would  have  found  or 
invented  such  charges  against  him  had  it  been  possible. 
He  was  eloquent,  learned,  zealous,  a  man  in  every  way 
the  equal  (to  say  no  more)  of  Luther,  Zwingli,  and  Cal- 
vin. His  name  has  been  loaded  with  unjust  reproaches ; 
he  has  been  accused  of  teaching  things  that  his  soul  ab- 
horred ;  but  in  spite  of  his  weakness  at  Zurich  he  stands 
out  one  of  the  heroic  figures  of  his  age. 

Hiibmaier  was  no  mystic.  He  believed  in  no  inner 
light  other  than  the  illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
that  is  given  to  every  believer  who  walks  close  with  God. 
His  appeal  on  all  disputed  points  is  not  to  this  internal 
witness  of  the  Spirit,  for  which  other  voices  might  be 
mistaken,  but  to  the  written  word  of  God  which  cannot 
err.     To  the  law  and  the  testimony  he  referred  every 


ANABAPTISM  IN  GERMANY  1 57 

doubtful  question,  and  by  the  decision  thus  reached,  he 
loyally  abided. 

Another  leader  of  this  time,  John  Denck,  was  a  man 
of  different  mental  cast.  Singularly  little  is  known  of 
his  early  history :  the  place  and  time  of  his  birth  are 
uncertain,  and  of  his  parentage  and  family  we  can  learn 
as  little — we  cannot  say  definitely  whether  he  had  brother 
or  sister,  wife  or  child.  He  is  thought  to  have  been  a 
native  of  Bavaria,  about  the  year  1495.  We  first  get 
definite  knowledge  of  him  as  an  attendant  on  the  lectures 
of  Qicolampadius  at  Basel,  in  1523,  where  he  took  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  Shortly  after  he  became  head 
master  of  the  school  of  St.  Sebald,  in  the  free  imperial 
city  of  Nuremberg.  He  had  evidently  adopted  evangelical 
views  before  going  to  Basel,  but  he  was  from  the  first 
neither  a  Zwinglian  nor  a  Lutheran,  but  took  a  line  of 
his  own.  Nuremberg  had,  however,  become  a  Lutheran 
town  under  the  lead  of  Osiander,  and  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore Denck's  teachings  were  found  to  harmonize  ill  with 
those  of  Luther,  especially  as  to  the  freedom  of  the  will. 
He  was  summoned  before  the  authorities,  made  a  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  and  this  was  adjudged  so  heretical  that 
he  was  condemned  to  banishment. 

This  Confession  has  been  recently  discovered  in  the 
archives  of  the  city,  and  interpreted  by  Doctor  Keller.  It 
plainly  appears  that  Denck  held  the  theological  views 
with  which  the  name  of  Arminius  became  later  identified. 
He  admits  the  existence  of  original  or  inherited  sin,  but 
denies  total  depravity ;  on  the  contrary,  he  says,  a  germ 
of  good  exists  in  man.  Men  are  so  far  from  being 
utterly  depraved  that  every  man  has  in  him  a  ray  of  the 
divine  light,  which  he  could  recognize  and  follow  if  he 
would.  To  follow  this  light,  to  obey  the  divine  will,  is 
the  essence  of  faith,  and  by  such  faith  alone  is  one  justi- 
fied.    There  is  a  working  together  of  the   divine  and 


158  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

human  in  salvation.  Faith  is  not  mere  belief,  but  the 
conformity  of  our  will  to  the  will  of  God.  Scripture  is 
not  the  sole  foundation  for  faith,  for  there  were  men  of 
faith  before  the  Scriptures.  Man  must  first  of  all  be- 
lieve in  God  as  revealed  in  his  own  conscience,  and  then 
he  will  believe  in  the  external  revelation,  finding  the  two 
to  harmonize.  The  witness  of  the  Spirit  confirms  the 
witness  of  the  Scriptures — this  inner  word  testifying  to 
the  truth  of  the  external  word — and  only  he  who  has  the 
illumination  of  the  Spirit  can  understand  the  Scriptures. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  brief  account  of  his  teachings 
that  Denck's  theology,  as  held  at  this  time,  was  irrecon- 
cilable with  that  of  Luther  in  the  fundamental  doctrines 
of  human  nature,  freedom  of  the  will,  faith,  and  justifi- 
cation, to  say  nothing  of  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures. 
A  city  that  had  declared  itself  for  Luther  and  his  doctrine 
could  hardly  be  expected,  in  those  times,  to  tolerate  so 
pronounced  dissent  from  the  official  faith. 

In  June,  1525,  we  find  Denck  was  at  St.  Gall.  He  was 
not  yet  a  professed  Anabaptist;  possibly  up  to  this  time 
he  had  not  heard  of  the  doctrines  of  this  party.  He 
could  hardly  fail  to  hear  of  them  now  and  to  be  favorably 
impressed  by  them.  This  would  account  for  his  going 
next  to  Augsburg,  which  was  already  an  Anabaptist 
center.  A  visit  of  Hiibmaier  to  the  city  in  the  following 
year  decided  him  to  become  an  Anabaptist,  and  he  was 
himself  baptized  by  Hiibmaier.  From  this  time  the  Ana- 
baptists in  Augsburg  grew  rapidly,  until  they  are  said 
to  have  numbered  eleven  hundred,  many  of  the  prominent 
people  of  the  city  joining  them.  The  Augsburg  Ana- 
baptists, as  we  know  from  a  contemporary  eye-witness, 
practised  immersion.  Their  piety  was  acknowledged 
even  by  their  opponents  and  persecutors,  though  these 
maintained  that  it  was  a  work  of  the  devil,  and  called  it 
"  a  sort  of  carnival-play  of  a  holy  apostolic  life,  fitted 


ANABAPTISM  IN  GERMANY  I59 

to  make  the  gospel  hateful."  At  a  synod  in  this  city, 
held  in  the  autumn  of  1527,  at  which  Denck  presided,  it 
was  decided  that  Christians  ought  not  to  obtain  power  or 
redress  of  grievances  by  unlawful  means,  that  is,  by  the 
sword. 

Partly  urged  by  his  restless  spirit,  partly  compelled  by 
danger  of  imprisonment  and  death,  Denck  spent  his  last 
years  in  rapidly  moving  from  place  to  place.  We  find 
traces  of  his  presence  at  Strassburg,  Worms,  Zurich, 
Schaffhausen,  and  Constance.  His  last  days  were  passed 
at  Basel,  where  he  died  in  the  autumn  of  1527,  of  the 
plague.  The  exact  time  of  his  death  and  the  place  of  his 
burial  are  unknown. 

His  contemporaries  unite  in  praising  Denck's  brilliant 
talents  and  exemplary  life.  "  In  Denck,  that  distin- 
guished young  man,"  says  Vadian,  "  were  all  talents  so 
extraordinarily  developed  that  he  surpassed  his  years,  and 
appeared  greater  than  himself."  He  was  of  handsome 
and  imposing  appearance,  and  hence  was  called  "  the 
Apollo  of  the  Anabaptists."  His  eloquence  was  cele- 
brated, and  his  learning  surpassed  his  eloquence.  His 
work  as  translator  and  author  was  of  high  quality.  His 
translation  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  made  in  connection 
with  Hatzer,  preceded  Luther's  by  several  years,  and  was 
freely  drawn  upon  by  the  latter,  which  is  one  testimony 
among  many  to  its  merit.  Denck  was,  however,  a  mys- 
tic ;  his  mental  and  spiritual  affinities  were  with  such  men 
as  Tauler  and  Thomas  a  Kempis.  He  would  have  hailed 
George  Fox  as  a  brother  in  the  Lord.  His  belief  in  the 
sufficiency  and  supremacy  of  the  inner  light  not  only  led 
him  into  some  doctrinal  vagaries,  but  had  a  very  mis- 
chievous effect  upon  his  followers.  The  charge  that  he 
did  not  believe  in  the  divinity  of  Christ,  Doctor  Keller 
thinks  is  unproved ;  but  it  is  admitted  that  he  believed 
in  the  final  restoration  of  mankind.    Denck's  writings  are 


l60  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

remarkable  for  their  mild  polemics  in  an  age  when  sav- 
age denunciation  and  personal  abuse  of  opponents  too 
often  took  the  place  of  argument.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  influential  thinkers  in  Germany,  and  probably  had 
in  the  South  and  West  a  greater  following  than  Luther, 
in  recognition  of  which  fact  his  opponents  not  infre- 
quently called  him  "  the  Anabaptist  pope."  The  influence 
of  his  work  was  felt  for  many  years  after  his  untimely 
death. 

Two  views  of  civil  government  had  been  thus  far  con- 
tending for  the  mastery  among  the  Anabaptists.  One  is 
that  of  the  Schleitheim  Confession,  which  defines  the 
sword  as  "  an  ordinance  of  God  outside  of  the  perfection 
of  Christ  .  .  .  ordained  over  the  wicked  for  punish- 
ment and  death,"  and  forbids  Christians  to  serve  as  mag- 
istrates. A  very  considerable  part  of  the  Anabaptists  ad- 
vocated those  principles  of  non-resistance  that  have  been 
professed  by  the  Friends  of  later  date.  Hiibmaier  and 
Denck  differed  from  this  view  in  part.  They  held  that  the 
Scriptures  direct  men  to  perform  their  duties  as  citizens ; 
that  Christians  may  lawfully  bear  the  sword  as  magis- 
trates, and  execute  the  laws,  save  in  persecution  of  others. 
In  his  tract  on  the  "  Christian  Baptism  of  Believers," 
Hiibmaier  says :  "  We  confess  openly  that  there  should  be 
secular  government  that  should  bear  the  sword.  This  we 
are  willing  and  bound  to  obey  in  everything  that  is  not 
against  God."  In  his  treatise  "  On  the  Sword  "  he  defines 
and  distinguishes  civil  and  religious  powers,  pointing  out 
the  true  relations  of  Church  and  State,  with  a  clearness 
that  a  modern  Baptist  might  well  imitate,  but  could  not 
excel.  "  In  matters  of  faith,"  said  Denck,  "  everything 
must  be  left  free,  willing,  and  unforced."  Hiibmaier  de- 
nounced persecution  in  his  "  Heretics  and  Those  Who 
Burn  Them,"  written  at  Schaffhausen  before  he  had  by 
his  rebaptism  fully  ranged  himself  with  the  Anabaptists: 


ANABAPTISM    IN    GERMANY  l6l 

Those  who  are  heretics  one  should  overcome  with  holy  knowl- 
edge, not  angrily  but  softly.  .  .  If  they  will  not  be  taught 
by  strong  proofs,  or  evangelical  reasons,  let  them  be  mad,  that 
those  that  are  filthy  may  be  more  filthy  still  .  .  .  This  is  the 
will  of  Christ,  who  said,  "  Let  both  grow  together  till  the  harvest, 
lest  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares  ye  root  up  also  the  wheat  with 
them !  "  .  .  Hence  it  follows  that  the  inquisitors  are  the  great- 
est heretics  of  all,  since  they  against  the  doctrine  and  example 
of  Christ  condemn  heretics  to  fire,  and  before  the  time  of  harvest 
root  up  the  wheat  with  the  tares  .  .  .  And  now  it  is  clear  to 
every  one,  even  the  blind,  that  a  law  to  burn  heretics  is  an 
invention  of  the  devil.    Truth  is  immortal. 

These  disconnected  sentences  give  an  idea  of  the  course 
of  thought  through  his  brief  tract,  which  is  written  with 
a  fire  that  may  well  have  stirred  to  wrath  the  persecutors 
whom  it  arraigned. 

The  Anabaptists  of  this  period  were  the  only  men  of 
their  time  who  had  grasped  the  principle  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  That  men  ought  not  to  be  persecuted 
on  account  of  their  religious  beliefs  was  a  necessary  cor- 
ollary from  their  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  church.  A 
spiritual  body,  consisting  only  of  the  regenerate,  could 
not  seek  to  add  to  itself  by  force  those  who  were  unre- 
generate.  No  Anabaptist  could  become  a  persecutor 
without  first  surrendering  this  fundamental  conviction ; 
and  though  a  few  of  them  appear  to  have  done  this,  they 
ceased  to  be  properly  classed  as  Anabaptists  the  moment 
they  forgot  the  saying  of  Christ,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world."  ' 

It  remains  to  tell  the  disgraceful  story  of  the  treatment 
of  the  German  Anabaptists.  Luther  began  his  career  as 
a  reformer  with  brave  words  in  favor  of  the  rights  of 
conscience  and  religious  liberty.  At  Worms  he  said: 
"  Unless  I  am  refuted  and  convicted  by  testimonies  of 
the  Scriptures  or  by  clear  arguments  (since  I  believe 
neither  the  pope  nor  councils  alone ;  it  being  evident  that 

L 


l62  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

they  have  often  erred  and  contradicted  themselves),  I 
am  conquered  by  the  Holy  Scriptures  quoted  by  me,  and 
my  conscience  is  bound  in  the  word  of  God :  I  cannot 
and  will  not  recant  anything,  since  it  is  unsafe  and  dan- 
gerous to  do  anything  against  the  conscience."  But 
later,  when  the  Anabaptists  took  precisely  this  position, 
Luther  assails  them  with  exactly  the  arguments  brought 
against  him  at  Worms,  which  he  so  boldly  rejected: 

If  every  one  now  is  allowed  to  handle  the  faith  so  as  to  intro- 
duce into  the  Scriptures  his  own  fancies,  and  then  expound  them 
according  to  his  own  understanding,  and  cares  to  find  only  what 
flatters  the  populace  and  the  senses,  certainly  not  a  single  article 
of  faith  could  stand.  It  is  dangerous,  yes  terrible,  in  the  highest 
degree,  to  hear  or  believe  anything  against  the  faith  and  doctrine 
of  the  entire  Christian  church.  He  who  doubts  any  article  that 
the  church  has  believed  from  the  beginning  continually,  does 
not  believe  in  the  Christian  church,  and  not  only  condemns  the 
entire  Christian  church  as  an  accursed  heretic,  but  condemns 
even  Christ  himself,  with  all  the  apostles  who  established  that 
article  of  the  church  and  corroborated  it,  and  that  beyond 
contradiction. 

There  was  a  similar  change  in  Luther's  opinions  re- 
garding the  treatment  proper  for  heretics.  In  his  address 
to  the  Christian  nobility  of  Germany  (1520)  he  said: 
"  We  should  overcome  heretics  with  books,  not  with  fire, 
as  the  old  Fathers  did.  If  there  were  any  skill  in  over- 
coming heretics  with  fire,  the  executioner  would  be  the 
most  learned  doctor  in  the  world ;  and  there  would  be  no 
need  to  study,  but  he  that  could  get  another  into  his 
power  could  burn  him."  The  same  ideas  are  set  forth 
in  the  tract  on  Secular  Magistracy  ( 1523)  :  "  No  one  can 
command  the  soul,  or  ought  to  command  it,  except  God, 
who  alone  can  show  it  the  way  to  heaven.  .  .  It  is 
futile  and  impossible  to  command  or  by  force  compel  any 
man's  belief.  .  .  Heresy  is  a  spiritual  thing  that  no 
iron  can  hew  down,  no  fire  burn,  no  water  drown.     .     . 


ANABAPTISM   IN  GERMANY  163 

Belief  is  a  free  thing  that  cannot  be  enforced."  Luther 
even  retained  these  sentiments,  at  least  in  the  abstract,  as 
late  as  1527,  for  in  a  treatise  written  in  that  year  against 
the  Anabaptists,  he  said:  "  It  is  not  right,  and  I  am  very 
sorry,  that  such  wretched  people  should  be  so  miserably 
murdered,  burned,  and  cruelly  killed.  Every  one  should 
be  allowed  to  believe  what  he  pleases.  If  his  belief  is 
wrong  he  will  have  sufficient  penalty  in  the  eternal  fire  of 
hell.  Why  should  they  be  made  martyrs  in  this  world 
also?  .  .  .  With  the  Scripture  and  God's  word  we 
should  oppose  and  resist  them;  with  fire  we  can 
accomplish  little." 

Yet  such  excellent  sentiments  as  these  did  not  prevent 
Luther  from  advising  John,  Elector  of  Saxony,  to  restrain 
by  force  the  Anabaptists  from  propagating  their  doctrines 
within  his  domains.  A  decree  issued  by  that  prince  in 
1528,  on  the  plea  that  the  Anabaptists  were  seducing 
simple-minded  folk  into  disobedience  to  God's  word,  by 
preachings  and  disputations,  through  books  and  writings, 
commanded  that  "  no  one— whether  noble,  burgher,  peas- 
ant, or  of  whatever  rank  he  may  be,  except  the  regular 
pastors  ...  to  whom  is  committed  in  every  place 
the  care  of  souls  and  preaching— is  permitted  to  preach 
and  baptize,  or  to  buy  and  read  forbidden  books ;  but  that 
every  one  who  learns  of  such  doings  shall  make  them 
known  to  the  magistrate  of  the  place  where  they  occur,  in 
order  that  these  persons  may  be  brought  to  prison  and 
justice."  It  was  made  the  duty  of  every  one  to  seize 
and  deliver  such  ofifenders  to  the  court;  and  whoever 
should  fail  to  do  so,  did  it  at  peril  of  body  and  goods. 
Whoever  received  such  persons  into  their  houses  or  gave 
them  any  assistance,  should  be  treated  as  abettors  and  ad- 
herents. The  Protestants  are  therefore  entitled  to  the 
distinction  of  beginning  the  persecution  of  the  German 
Anabaptists. 


164  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

We  cannot  wonder  that  the  Catholics  followed  this  ex- 
ample. At  the  Diet  of  Speyer,  in  1529,  when  the  German 
princes  and  representatives  of  the  free  cities  presented 
their  famous  protest,  in  which,  in  the  name  of  religious 
liberty  they  claimed  the  right  to  force  the  reformed  faith 
upon  their  unwilling  Catholic  subjects,  while  they  spoke 
also  a  faint-hearted  plea  for  the  Zwinglians,  they  had  no 
good  word  for  the  Anabaptists.  The  Diet  at  this  session 
passed  a  stringent  decree  against  these  people :  "All  Ana- 
baptists and  rebaptized  persons,  male  or  female,  of  ma- 
ture age,  shall  be  judged  and  brought  from  natural  life 
to  death,  by  fire,  or  sword  or  otherwise,  as  may  befit  the 
persons,  without  preceding  trial  by  spiritual  judges.  .  . 
Such  persons  as  of  themselves,  or  after  instruction,  at 
once  confess  their  error,  and  are  willing  to  undergo  pen- 
ance and  chastisement  therefor,  and  pray  for  clemency, 
these  may  be  pardoned  by  their  government  as  may  befit 
their  standing,  conduct,  youth,  and  general  circumstances. 
We  will  also  that  all  of  their  children  according  to  Chris- 
tian order,  usage,  and  rite  shall  be  baptized  in  their 
youth.  Whoever  shall  despise  this,  and  will  not  do  it, 
in  the  belief  that  there  should  be  no  baptism  of  children, 
shall,  if  he  persists  in  that  course,  be  held  to  be  an 
Anabaptist,  and  shall  be  subjected  to  our  above-named 
constitution." 

This  decree  was  formally  binding  on  all  the  States  of 
the  empire,  Protestant  as  well  as  Catholic,  but  there  was 
of  course  great  latitude  in  its  practical  enforcement. 
Most  of  the  Protestant  princes,  like  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony and  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  while  greatly  desirous 
of  suppressing  the  Anabaptists,  had  invincible  scruples 
against  persecuting  to  the  death  those  who,  like  them- 
selves, claimed  to  be  following  conscience  and  Scrip- 
ture. In  such  domains,  fines,  imprisonment,  and  banish- 
ment were  inflicted,  but  not  death.     The  free  cities  were 


ANABAPTISM   IN  GERMANY  165 

Still  less  Stringent,  and  seem  to  have  moved  against  the 
Anabaptists  only  when  their  numbers  became  so  great  as 
to  alarm  the  authorities.  Indeed,  these  cities  became  the 
chief  refuge  of  the  Anabaptists  in  the  storm  of  persecu- 
tion that  raged  against  them  after  1529.  In  the  Catho- 
lic States  they  were  pursued  with  implacable  severity,  and 
one  chronicler  (Sebastian  Franck,  d.  1542)  estimates  that 
two  thousand  or  more  were  put  to  death  at  this  time. 
In  the  Palatinate  the  persecution  was  not  less  severe 
than  in  the  Catholic  States,  for  three  hundred  and  fifty 
are  said  to  have  perished  there. 

Cornelius,  though  writing  as  a  Roman  Catholic,  yet 
also  as  a  conscientious  historian,  thus  sums  up  the  results 
of  these  persecutions : 

In  Tyrol  and  Gorz,  the  number  of  the  executions  in  the 
year  1531  already  reached  one  thousand;  in  Ensisheim,  six  hun- 
dred. At  Linz,  seventy-three  were  killed  in  six  weeks.  Duke 
William,  of  Bavaria,  surpassing  all  others,  issued  the  fearful  de- 
cree to  behead  those  who  recanted,  to  burn  those  who  refused 
to  recant.  Throughout  the  greater  part  of  upper  Germany  the 
persecutions  raged  like  a  wild  chase.  The  blood  of  these  poor 
people  flowed  like  water ;  so  that  they  cried  to  the  Lord  for 
help.  But  hundreds  of  them,  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  suffered 
the  pangs  of  torture  without  a  murmur,  despised  to  buy  their 
lives  by  recantation,  and  went  to  the  place  of  execution  joyful 
and  singing  Psalms.^ 

Some  of  the  recent  apologists  for  these  cruelties  have 
said  that  there  was  at  least  a  partial  justification  for  such 
wholesale  executions  in  the  suspicion  that  the  Anabap- 
tists were  not  merely  heretics,  but  traitors — revolution- 
ists, advocates  of  sedition,  as  dangerous  to  the  State  as 
to  religion.  It  is  perhaps  a  sufficient  answer  to  this  plea 
to  remark  that  none  of  the  contemporary  documents  bring 
this  charge  against  the  Anabaptists.  In  the  preambles  of 
the  various  decrees  issued  against  them,  in  the  statement 

1  "  Geschichte  des  Miinsterischen  Aufruhrs,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  57  seq. 


l66  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

of  their  offenses  nothing  is  found  but  their  errors  in 
rehgious  faith  and  practice.  If  they  were  suspected  of 
being  pohtically  dangerous  up  to  1529,  it  is  remarkable 
that  no  trace  of  such  suspicion  should  appear  in  any  of- 
ficial action  taken  against  them.  It  may  be  properly 
added  that  up  to  this  time  neither  the  acts  nor  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Anabaptists  afforded  a  plausible  pretext  for 
the  State  to  treat  them  as  seditious. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE  OUTBREAK  OF  FANATICISM 

PERSECUTION  and  oppression  have  a  tendency  to 
develop  manifestations  of  fanatical  zeal  in  the  op- 
pressed and  persecuted.  History  affords  many  instances 
of  this  principle,  and  nowhere  perhaps  is  its  working  bet- 
ter illustrated  than  in  Germany  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  movement  that  we  call  the  Reformation  was  a  com- 
plex series  of  phenomena,  social,  political,  and  religious; 
and  hardly  had  Luther  begun  his  labors  as  a  religious 
reformer,  when  another  group  of  men  began  to  agitate 
for  far-reaching  social  reforms.  These  were  the  spokes- 
men of  the  peasants,  the  most  miserable  class  of  the 
German  people. 

The  condition  of  the  peasantry  of  Germany  was  rapidly 
changing  for  the  worse  during  the  sixteenth  century. 
This  was  owing  to  the  complete  social  revolution  then  in 
progress  which  we  call  the  decay  of  feudalism.  jMany 
causes  had  been  at  work  to  disintegrate  the  feudal  system, 
but  none  had  been  so  powerful  as  the  invention  of  gun- 
powder. The  day  when  foot-soldiers  of  the  peasant  class 
were  armed  with  muskets  was  the  day  of  doom  for  feudal- 
ism. The  old  superiority  of  the  armored  knight  was 
gone ;  battles  were  no  longer  contests  of  cavalry ;  once 
more  infantry  came  to  the  front.  As  the  man  with  the 
hoe,  the  peasant  was  still  despised ;  as  the  man  with  the 
gun  he  compelled  respect. 

The  political  and  social  supremacy  of  the  nobles  had 
rested  on  their  military  power.  So  long  as  the  armored 
knight  was  able  to  contend  single-handed  against  a  score 

167 


l68  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

and  even  a  hundred  ill-armed  peasants  in  leather  jerkins, 
so  long  he  was  powerful  both  to  punish  and  to  protect. 
The  weak  instinctively  seek  the  protection  of  the  strong, 
even  when  a  high  price  must  be  paid  for  the  favor,  for 
it  is  better  to  give  a  part  to  one's  overlord  than  to  lose 
all  to  another.  The  nobility  had  been  tolerated  and  even 
upheld  because  they  were  necessary  to  society.  They 
had  been  permitted  to  usurp  much  power,  social  privilege, 
wealth,  that  in  nowise  belonged  to  them.  But  the  tacit 
condition  on  which  these  usurpations  were  condoned  was 
that  the  nobility  should  discharge  their  functions  as  pro- 
tectors of  social  institutions,  as  preservers  of  peace  and 
order. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  power  of  the  nobility  was 
broken.  The  knight  ceased  to  be  supreme  in  arms,  and 
as  his  political  and  social  privileges  depended  on  his 
military  prowess,  he  must  now  prepare  himself  to  part 
with  these.  This  fact  he  could  not  and  would  not  see.  He 
was  no  student  of  social  science,  he  had  no  philosophy  of 
history,  but  he  had  the  usual  share  of  human  selfishness, 
and  the  disposition  to  hold  on  at  all  hazards  to  his  pos- 
sessions. The  increase  of  royal  power  on  the  one  hand, 
and  on  the  other  his  own  growing  poverty,  began  to 
pinch  him  sorely.  The  rise  of  the  merchant  class,  the 
increase  of  manufactures  and  commerce,  had  done  away 
with  the  old  system  of  barter,  and  introduced  the  use  of 
money.  Of  money  the  knight  had  little,  of  wants  he 
and  his  household  had  an  increasing  number.  It  was  nat- 
ural that  he  should  turn  to  his  only  resource,  the  peasants 
who  tilled  his  soil,  and  try  to  wring  from  them  the  sums 
that  he  needed.  Thus  began  new  and  continually  in- 
creasing exactions  from  the  peasants,  until  their  condition 
became  intolerable.  Discontent  became  everywhere  rife, 
and  frequent  insurrections  showed  that  a  violent  social 
revolution  was  imminent. 


THE  OUTBREAK  OF   FANATICISM  169 

The  rise  of  the  Lutheran  Reformation  was  coincident 
with  this  state  of  things.  It  was  inevitable  that  the  peas- 
ants should  be  encouraged  to  expect  betterment  of  their 
condition  from  the  religious  movement  thus  begun,  and 
the  early  teachings  of  Luther  must  have  fanned  this  hope. 
The  seething  discontent  finally  broke  out  into  a  general 
uprising  throughout  Southern  Germany.  The  peasants 
drew  up  twelve  articles,  in  which  they  demanded  what 
seem  now  like  very  moderate  measures  of  reform,  such 
as  the  right  to  elect  their  own  pastors,  the  status  of  free- 
men, restoration  of  the  common  rights  to  fish  and  game 
and  woodlands,  just  administration  of  the  laws,  and  abo- 
lition of  fines  and  undue  feudal  services.  In  a  tract  that 
he  wrote  on  the  articles,  though  he  criticised  the  peasants 
for  resorting  to  forcible  methods  of  obtaining  redress, 
Luther  felt  compelled  to  defend  the  substantial  justice  of 
these  demands,  and  exhorted  the  nobles  to  yield  lest  ruin 
overtake  them. 

It  is  quite  clear  that  we  have  no  one  upon  earth  to  thank  for 
all  this  disorder  and  insurrection  but  you  yourselves,  princes 
and  lords,  and  you  especially,  blind  bishops,  insane  priests  and 
monks,  who,  even  to  this  very  day,  hardened  in  your  perversity, 
cease  not  to  clamor  against  the  holy  gospel,  although  you  know 
it  is  just  and  right  and  good,  and  that  you  cannot  honestly  say 
anything  against  it.  At  the  same  time,  in  your  capacity  as 
secular  authorities,  you  manifest  yourselves  the  executioners  and 
spoilers  of  the  poor,  you  sacrifice  everything  and  everybody  to 
your  monstrous  luxury,  to  your  outrageous  pride,  and  you  have 
continued  to  do  this  until  the  people  neither  can  nor  will  endure 
you  any  longer.  With  the  sword  already  at  your  throat,  your 
mad  presumption  induces  you  to  imagine  yourselves  so  firm  in 
the  saddle  that  you  cannot  be  thrown  off.  If  you  alter  not,  and 
that  speedily,  this  impious  security  will  break  your  necks  for 
you.  .  .  It  is  you,  it  is  your  crimes  that  God  is  about  to 
punish.  If  the  peasants,  who  are  now  attacking  you,  are  not  the 
ministers  of  his  will,  others,  coming  after  them,  will  be  so.  You 
may  beat  them,  but  you  will  be  none  the  less  vanquished ;  you 
may  crush  them  to  the  earth,  but  God  will  raise  up  others  in 


170  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

their  place;  it  is  his  pleasure  to  strike  you,  and  he  will  strike 
you/ 

The  leader  of  the  peasants  whose  name  has  come  down 
to  us  as  most  notable  was  Thomas  Miinzer.  He  was 
born  about  1490  at  Stolberg,  studied  at  several  universi- 
ties, becoming  a  bachelor  of  theology  at  Halle,  and  was 
a  man  of  considerable  learning,  unusual  ability,  and  re- 
markable eloquence.  With  all  these  gifts  he  showed  him- 
self from  the  beginning  of  his  career  to  be  one  of  those 
hot-headed,  unbalanced,  fanatical  men,  who  are  born  to 
be  troublers  in  Israel.  In  15 15  he  was  provost  of  a  con- 
vent at  Trohsen,  near  Aschersleben,  and  in  15 17  became 
a  teacher  in  the  gymnasium  at  Brunswick.  In  June, 
1520,  he  became  preacher  of  the  chief  church  at  Zwickau, 
the  city  already  leaning  toward  Lutheranism ;  and  it  is 
more  than  suspected  that  he  received  the  appointment 
with  Luther's  knowledge  and  sanction.  In  his  first  ser- 
mon he  attacked  the  pope  and  clergy  so  furiously  as  to 
make  a  marked  sensation  in  the  town,  and  soon  great 
crowds  of  people  flocked  in  from  the  surrounding  region 
to  hear  this  preacher,  who,  according  to  an  enemy's 
testimony,  was  "  gifted  with  angelic  eloquence." 

It  was  by  Luther's  earlier  writings  that  he  had  been 
won  to  the  reformation  cause,  and  he  took  more  seriously 
than  their  author  the  ideas  set  forth  in  these  writings. 
Luther's  course  was  a  curious  compound  of  radical  opin- 
ions and  conservative  action,  but  Miinzer  was  the  kind 
of  man  to  insist  on  making  action  correspond  to  avowed 
opinion.  He  therefore  attempted  to  carry  out  consist- 
ently the  principle  avowed  by  Luther  in  his  "  Babylonian 
Captivity,"  that  the  gospel  should  be  the  rule  of  political 
as  well  as  of  Christian  life.  He  also  dissented  from 
Luther's  forensic  ideas  about  justification.     That   faith 

1  Michelet,  "Life  of  Luther"   (tr.  by  Hazlitt),  pp.   167,   168. 


A  (;k()up  of  Kadk  al  Leaders 


THE  OUTBREAK  OF   FANATICISM  I71 

alone  justifies  he  denied,  calling  this  a  "'  fictitious  faith." 
In  short,  the  disciple  showed  a  strong  tendency  to  outrun 
his  master,  in  unsparing  application  of  logic  and  Scripture 
(as  he  understood  the  latter)  to  everyday  life. 

Finding  the  Council  and  more  sober  citizens  opposed 
to  his  radicalism,  Munzer  thought  to  strengthen  his  po- 
sition by  attaching  his  fortunes  to  those  of  the  "  proph- 
ets," Storch,  Stubner,  and  Thoma,  and  together  they  be- 
gan to  announce  the  speedy  end  of  the  age  and  the  setting 
up  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  These  prophecies  soon 
produced  such  disorders  in  Zwickau  that  the  Council  was 
compelled  to  act.  The  "  prophets  "  were  thrown  into 
prison,  and  Miinzer  was  banished,  going  into  Bohemia. 

The  "  prophets  "  were  released  after  a  time,  went  to 
Wittenberg,  as  already  related,  and  then  disappear  from 
history.  Munzer,  unfortunately,  did  not  disappear. 
About  1523  he  in  some  way  became  pastor  at  Alstedt, 
where  he  married  a  former  nun.  Here  he  was  as  con- 
servative as  previously  he  had  been  radical.  He  pub- 
lished a  liturgy  in  German  which  is  decidedly  more  Ro- 
man than  Lutheran  in  doctrine,  and  contains  a  form  of 
baptism  for  infants.  In  one  of  his  tracts  published  he 
says  that  infant  baptism  cannot  be  proved  from  Scripture, 
which  is  probably  the  reason  why  he  has  been  called  an 
Anabaptist,  but  he  never  abandoned  the  practice  of 
baptizing  infants. 

By  the  summer  of  1524  he  had  made  the  town  too  hot 
to  hold  him,  and  for  some  time  he  wandered  from  place 
to  place,  visiting  Qicolampadius  at  Basel,  possibly  Hiib- 
maier  at  Waldshut,  and  making  the  acquaintance  of  the 
Swiss  Anabaptists.  At  the  beginning  of  1525  he  came 
to  Miihlhausen.  Before  this  time,  in  September,  1524, 
learning  what  his  views  had  come  to  be,  and  what  was 
likely  to  be  their  outcome,  Grebel,  Mantz,  and  Blaurock 
addressed    a    letter    of    warning    and    remonstrance    to 


1/2  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Miinzer  which  did  not  reach  him,  but  still  exists  in  the 
archives  at  Schaffhausen  to  testify  to  the  sound  views  of 
its  authors.  ''  Is  it  true,"  Grebel  asks,  "  as  we  hear,  that 
you  preached  in  favor  of  an  attack  on  the  princes  ?  If  you 
defend  war  or  anything  else  not  found  in  the  clear  word 
of  God,  I  admonish  you  by  our  common  salvation  to 
abstain  from  these  things  now  and  hereafter."  It  is  im- 
possible to  say  what  effect  this  fraternal  reproof  might 
have  had ;  but  not  receiving  it,  Miinzer  went  on  his  way, 
and  by  his  rash  attempt  to  mingle  civil  and  religious 
reform,  and  enforce  both  by  the  sword,  he  forfeited  his 
life. 

For  when  he  reached  Miihlhausen  it  was  the  storm- 
center  of  Germany;  the  outbreak  of  the  peasants  had 
already  begun  and  the  Peasants'  War  was  on.  The  peas- 
ants had  a  righteous  cause,  if  ever  men  had  one  who 
strove  for  liberty  with  the  sword,  and  the  justice  and 
moderation  of  their  demands  as  made  in  their  twelve  ar- 
ticles is  conceded  by  every  modern  historian.  Miinzer 
gave  himself  out  as  the  prophet  of  God,  come  for  the 
purpose  of  setting  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  city, 
and  promising  destruction  of  princes,  community  of 
goods,  and  the  gospel  to  be  made  the  rule  of  life  in  all 
things. 

By  such  means  he  easily  made  himself  the  head  of  the 
revolt,  and  thousands  of  the  deluded  peasants  of  South- 
ern Germany  flocked  to  his  standard.  The  bubble  was 
pricked  by  the  lances  of  the  allied  German  princes  at  the 
battle  of  Frankenhausen,  May  15,  1525.  The  peasants 
were  defeated  with  great  slaughter;  Miinzer  and  other 
leaders  were  captured  and  put  to  death ;  and  it  is  credibly 
recorded  of  the  "  prophet "  that  before  his  death  he  re- 
canted his  errors,  returned  to  the  Catholic  Church,  re- 
ceived the  last  sacraments,  and  died  exhorting  the  people 
of  Miihlhausen  to  hold  fast  to  the  true  (Catholic)  faith! 


THE  OUTBREAK   OF   FANATICISM  I73 

Though  the  peasants  had  a  good  cause,  they  had  not 
always  adopted  good  methods.  Most  of  them  were  ig- 
norant, all  were  exasperated,  and  some  were  maddened 
by  their  wrongs.  In  their  uprising  some  outrages  were 
committed ;  castles  had  been  burned  and  plundered  and 
ruthless  oppressors  had  been  slain.  These  deeds  were 
now  made  the  pretext  for  a  retaliation  whose  cruelty  has 
rarely  been  surpassed  in  history.  It  is  computed  by  his- 
torians who  have  no  motive  to  exaggerate,  that  fully  a 
hundred  thousand  were  killed  before  the  fury  of  the 
princes  and  the  knights  was  appeased. 

Foremost  among  those  who  urged  them  on  was  Luther. 
It  would  seem  that  he  had  become  alarmed  by  the  per- 
sistence of  those  who  had  sought  to  make  him  and  his 
teachings  responsible  for  the  peasant  war.  His  hope 
was  in  the  protection  and  patronage  of  the  princes,  to 
whom  the  plain  words  he  had  spoken  must  have  given 
deep  offense.  So  in  the  midst  of  the  uproar  he  sent  to 
the  press  a  second  pamphlet,  in  which  he  turned  com- 
pletely about,  and  denounced  the  peasants  as  violently  as 
he  had  before  rebuked  the  princes. 

They  cause  uproar,  outrageously  rob  and  pillage  monasteries 
and  castles  not  belonging  to  them.  For  this  alone,  as  public 
highwaymen  and  murderers,  they  deserve  a  twofold  death  of 
body  and  soul.  It  is  right  and  lawful  to  slay  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity a  rebellious  person,  known  as  such,  already  under  God 
and  the  emperor's  ban.  For  of  a  public  rebel,  every  man  is 
both  judge  and  executioner.  Just  as,  when  a  fire  starts,  he  who 
can  extinguish  it  first  is  the  best  fellow.  Rebellion  is  not  a  vile 
murder,  but  like  a  great  fire  that  kindles  and  devastates  a 
country ;  hence  uproar  carries  with  it  a  land  full  of  murder, 
bloodshed,  makes  widows  and  orphans,  and  destroys  everything, 
like  the  greatest  calamity.  Therefore  whosoever  can,  should 
smite,  strangle,  and  stab,  secretly  or  publicly,  and  should  remem- 
ber that  there  is  nothing  more  poisonous,  pernicious,  and  devilish 
than  a  rebellious  man.  Just  as  when  one  must  slay  a  mad  dog; 
fight  him  not  and  he  will  fight  you,  and  a  whole  country  with  you. 


174  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Let  the  civil  power  press  on  confidently  and  strike  as  long 
as  it  can  move  a  muscle.  For  here  is  the  advantage ;  the  peas- 
ants have  bad  consciences  and  unlawful  goods,  and  whenever  a 
peasant  is  killed  therefore  he  has  lost  body  and  soul,  and  goes 
forever  to  the  devil.  Civil  authority,  however,  has  a  clean  con- 
science and  lawful  goods,  and  can  say  to  God  with  all  security 
of  heart :  "  Behold,  my  God,  thou  hast  appointed  me  prince  or 
lord,  of  that  I  cannot  doubt,  and  hast  entrusted  me  with  the 
sword  against  evil-doers  (Rom.  13  :  4).  .  .  Therefore  I  will 
punish  and  smite  as  long  as  I  can  move  a  muscle ;  thou  wilt 
judge  and  approve."  .  .  Such  wonderful  times  are  these  that 
a  prince  can  more  easily  win  heaven  by  shedding  blood  than 
others  with  prayers. 

Therefore,  dear  lords,  redeem  here,  save  here,  help  here ; 
have  mercy  on  these  poor  peasants,  stab,  strike,  strangle,  whoever 
can.  Remainest  thou  therefore  dead?  Well  for  you,  for  a  more 
pious  death  nevermore  canst  thou  obtain.  For  thou  diest  in 
obedience  to  God's  word  and  to  duty  (Rom.  13:  i),  and  in  the 
service  of  love,  to  deliver  thy  neighbor  out  of  hell  and  the  devil's 
chains. 


The  charge  brought  against  Luther  was  of  course  ab- 
surd. There  would  have  been  a  revolt  of  the  peasants 
had  there  been  no  Luther  and  no  Reformation,  though  it 
is  possible  that  Luther  and  his  teachings  hastened  the 
outbreak  and  increased  its  violence.  It  is  equally  absurd 
to  charge  the  responsibility  of  the  revolt  upon  the  Ana- 
baptists, and  had  not  Miinzer  been  erroneously  called  an 
Anabaptist  by  careless  writers  probably  no  connection 
would  have  been  suspected  between  movements  that  had 
so  little  in  common  as  the  religious  reformation  sought 
by  the  Anabaptists  and  the  social  revolution  desired  by 
the  peasants.  Some  few  Anabaptists  were  doubtless  con- 
cerned in  the  revolt — it  would  be  wonderful  if  such  were 
not  the  case — but  not  the  sect  as  a  whole,  or  even  any 
large  proportion  of  them.  One  fact  is  decisive  of  this 
question :  the  vengeance  of  the  princes  and  nobles  was 
not  directed  against  Anabaptists  as  such,  on  account  of 


THE  OUTBREx\K  OF  FANATICISM  I75 

the  peasant  uprising.  No  contemporary  charges  the 
Anabaptists  with  responsibihty  for  the  disorders  at  Miihl- 
hausen  or  elsewhere  during  the  revolt  of  the  peasants. 
That  charge  it  was  left  for  certain  writers  of  the  present 
century  to  advance  for  the  first  time. 

It  was  in  Northern  Germany,  and  some  years  after  the 
revolt  of  the  peasants  had  been  subdued,  that  the  anar- 
chistic and  doctrinal  vagaries  of  certain  Anabaptists 
found  their  fullest  development.  He  who  has  been  called 
the  leading  spirit  of  the  movement  that  culminated  at 
Miinster,  never  countenanced  or  taught  the  use  of  the 
sword  in  the  cause  of  religion.  Melchior  Hofmann  was 
a  man  of  fervent  piety,  of  evangelical  spirit,  of  pure  and 
devoted  life ;  but  his  mind  was  of  the  dreamy,  mystical 
type,  and  his  lack  of  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  the  original  tongues,  and  his  deficiency  in  general 
mental  culture  made  him  an  easy  victim  to  speculations 
and  vagaries.  Pure  in  life  and  mild  in  character  as  he 
was,  not  a  few  of  his  teachings  contained  dangerous 
germs  of  evil,  and  their  development  under  his  successors 
brought  great  shame  upon  the  Anabaptist  cause. 

Hofmann  was  born  in  Swabia,  probably  in  the  free  im- 
perial city  of  Hall,  about  1490.  He  had  only  a  slight 
education,  and  was  apprenticed  to  a  furrier.  He  very 
early  embraced  the  Lutheran  Reformation,  but  was  by 
nature  a  radical  and  an  enthusiast,  and  could  be  expected 
to  remain  permanently  subject  to  no  leader  who  halted 
half-way  in  the  work  of  reform.  A  disparaging  refer- 
ence to  him  in  one  of  Zwingli's  letters,  written  in  1523, 
shows  that  he  was  then  in  Zurich,  and  later  he  went  to 
Livonia,  where  he  was  in  no  long  time  thrown  into 
prison  and  then  banished.  He  was  in  Dorpat  in  the 
autumn  of  1524,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  testimonials 
from  a  number  of  scholars  and  influential  men,  including 
Luther  himself.     It  was  about  this  time  that  he  began  to 


176  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

develop  his  chiliastic  notions,  and  as  a  lay  preacher  he 
did  not  fail  to  advocate  them.  This  would  bring  him  into 
no  collision  with  the  Lutherans,  for  Luther  was  himself 
inclined  to  chiliastic  notions,  at  least  during  this  portion 
of  his  career.  About  the  beginning  of  1526  Hofmann 
went  to  Stockholm,  where  he  published  his  first  book,  an 
interpretation  of  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Daniel,  in  which 
he  gave  free  vent  to  his  notions  about  the  coming  of 
Christ's  kingdom,  and  fixed  the  year  1533  for  the  end 
of  the  age. 

For  the  next  two  years  he  was  in  Denmark ;  being  still 
attached  to  the  Lutheran  party,  he  had  little  difficulty  in 
obtaining  the  protection  of  the  authorities,  and  even  got 
a  living  assigned  him.  His  restlessness  in  speculation 
soon  made  trouble  for  him  with  the  Lutheran  clergy,  and 
finally  his  avowal  of  Zwinglian  ideas  regarding  the  Eu- 
charist procured  his  banishment.  Thence  he  seems  to 
have  gone  to  Strassburg,  arriving  there  at  the  beginning 
of  1529,  or  possibly  a  little  before. 

Up  to  this  time  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  had  met 
any  Anabaptists  or  become  acquainted  with  their  views, 
still  less  that  he  had  any  inclination  toward  them.  At 
Strassburg  the  Anabaptists  were  numerous,  and  the  death 
of  Denck  had  left  them  without  a  recognized  leader. 
They  differed  from  many  German  Anabaptists  on  several 
points ;  in  particular,  they  were  opposed  to  the  use  of  the 
sword,  in  spite  of  the  authority  of  Hiibmaier  and  Denck. 
The  ardor  of  Hofmann  and  the  novelty  of  his  teachings 
naturally  fitted  him  to  step  into  the  vacant  leadership, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  he  was  recognized  as  the  head 
of  the  Anabaptists  of  Strassburg.  He  wrote  and  taught 
indefatigably,  and  made  numerous  missionary  journeys 
into  surrounding  regions.  One  of  these,  into  Holland, 
was  fraught  with  momentous  consequences,  for  in  the 
course  of  it  he  met,  converted,  baptized,  and  indoctrinated 


THE  OUTBREAK  OF  FANATICISM  I77 

with  his  notions,  Jan  Matthys,  a  baker  of  Haarlem,  who 
was  to  be  his  successor,  and  lead  the  Anabaptists  into  a 
career  of  shame  and  overthrow. 

After  a  time  the  magistrates  of  the  city  became 
alarmed  at  Hofmann's  growing  influence,  and  he  was  ar- 
rested in  May,  1533,  and  thrown  into  prison.  He  had 
before  this  predicted  that  the  end  of  the  age  was  at  hand ; 
that  Strassburg  was  to  be  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  that 
the  magistrates  would  there  set  up  the  kingdom  of  God; 
that  the  new  truth  and  the  new  baptism  would  prevail 
irresistibly  throughout  the  earth.  He  had  set  the  very 
year  of  his  arrest  as  the  time  of  consummation;  and  at 
first  his  followers  were  not  dismayed,  for  this  persecu- 
tion, they  persuaded  themselves,  was  also  foretold.  But 
the  years  passed  and  Hofmann  still  languished  in  prison, 
until  death  released  him  toward  the  close  of  1543. 

In  the  meantime  another  "  prophet "  had  arisen  and 
his  predictions  were  claiming  the  attention  of  the  credu- 
lous. Hofmann  was  discredited  by  the  failure  of  his 
prophecies,  but  none  the  less  eagerly  were  those  of  Jan 
Matthys  received.  He  was  one  of  these  crack-brained 
fanatics,  half  lunatic,  half  criminal,  who  never  fail 
to  gain  a  large  following,  and  as  certainly  lead  their 
dupes  to  destruction.  About  the  time  of  Hofmann's  im- 
prisonment Matthys  began  to  dream  dreams  and  see  vi- 
sions ;  proclaimed  himself  to  be  the  Elias  of  the  new  dis- 
pensation soon  to  begin,  and  sent  out  twelve  apostles  to 
herald  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Among 
other  things  he  predicted  the  speedy  overthrow  of  all  ty- 
rants and  the  coming  of  an  age  of  gold.  Converts  were 
made  to  this  new  gospel  by  the  thousand  in  Holland  and 
Friesland. 

Events  just  then  occurring  at  the  city  of  Miinster  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  Anabaptist  leaders  and  caused 
that  city  to  become  the  center  of  operations.     Miinster 


178  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

was  at  that  time  a  semi-free  city,  ruled  by  its  council,  but 
situated  in  the  territory  of  a  prince-bishop  who  claimed 
a  certain  suzerainty.  The  citizens  had  been  struggling 
to  gain  freedom  from  an  ecclesiastical  caste  that  insulted 
and  robbed  them,  and  a  famine  that  occurred  in  this 
region  in  1529  brought  the  city  to  the  very  verge  of 
revolution. 

At  this  juncture  Bernard  Rothmann  began  to  preach 
the  Lutheran  doctrines  there,  and  soon  all  the  clergy  of 
the  city  sided  with  him.  A  revolution,  half  political,  half 
religious,  ensued,  and  by  the  intervention  of  Philip  of 
Hesse  a  treaty  was  made  with  the  prince-bishop,  in  which 
Munster  was  recognized  as  a  Lutheran  city.  But  Roth- 
mann and  his  colleagues  had  no  notion  of  stopping  here ; 
they  issued  a  "  Confession  of  Two  Sacraments,"  in  which 
they  strongly  advocated  believers'  baptism,  and  defined 
the  ordinance  as  "  dipping  or  completely  plunging  into 
the  water." 

Just  as  affairs  had  come  to  this  stage  two  of  the 
apostles  of  Matthys  reached  the  city  and  began  preaching 
and  baptizing.  Li  eight  days  they  are  said  to  have  bap- 
tized fourteen  hundred  people.  Two  weeks  later  Jan 
Matthys  himself  arrived,  and  in  February  the  Anabaptists 
had  so  increased  that  they  had  no  difficulty  in  electing  a 
council  from  their  own  number,  and  so  gained  control 
of  the  government  of  Munster  without  striking  a  blow. 
From  this  time  they  had  supreme  power  in  the  town, 
though  the  prince-bishop  speedily  laid  siege  to  it  and 
confined  them  closely  within. 

The  Anabaptist  domination  was  celebrated  by  clearing 
the  Dom  of  all  images,  and  driving  from  the  city  all  who 
would  not  join  them.  The  council  then  established  com- 
munity of  goods  as  the  law  of  the  town,  and  the  orgy  of 
fanaticism  and  wickedness  began.  Daily  visions  and  rev- 
elations came  to  the  leaders,  some  of  whom  were  evi- 


THE   OUTBREAK   OF   FANATICISM  I79 

dently  sincere,  while  others  appear  to  have  been  simply 
devilish.  Matthys  was  certainly  one  of  the  former,  and 
proved  it  by  his  death.  In  obedience  to  a  vision  he  made 
a  sortie  from  the  city  with  a  few  followers,  and  was 
killed  while  fighting  desperately.  John  Bockhold,  of 
Leyden,  thereupon  declared  himself  the  successor,  and 
had  no  difficulty  in  persuading  the  people  to  accept  him 
as  the  prophet  appointed  by  God.  Nothing  seemed  too 
much  for  these  credulous  Alunsterites  to  receive  unques- 
tioningly.  When  John  of  Leyden  shortly  afterward  pro- 
claimed that  this  was  Mount  Zion,  that  the  kingdom  of 
David  was  to  be  re-established,  and  that  he  was  King 
David,  nobody  questioned  him.  The  solemn  farce  was 
played  out  to  the  end.  Of  course  King  David  had  to 
have  a  harem,  and  polygamy  was  proclaimed  as  the  law 
of  the  new  kingdom.  Perhaps  the  fact  that  six  times  as 
many  women  as  men  were  now  in  the  city  had  not  a  very 
remote  connection  with  this  feature  of  the  kingdom. 

The  farce  was  about  ended ;  it  was  soon  to  become 
bloody  tragedy.  The  Miinsterites,  knowing  that  before 
the  siege  began  the  surrounding  country  held  thousands 
who  sympathized  with  them,  were  continually  expecting 
that  an  armed  force  of  Anabaptists  would  come  to  their 
aid.  But  the  Anabaptists  were  overawed  by  the  military 
force,  or  disgusted  by  the  fantastic  doings  in  the  city,  and 
no  army  came.  The  town  was  wasted  by  famine,  weak- 
ened at  last  by  dissensions,  and  betrayed  by  traitors. 
June  25,  1535,  it  fell,  and  Anabaptism  in  Germany  fell 
with  it.  There  was  great  slaughter  in  the  town,  and  the 
captured  leaders,  after  tortures  truly  diabolical  in  their 
cruelty,  were  hung  up  in  cages  to  the  tower  of  the  church 
of  St.  Lambert,  in  the  chief  market-place,  to  die  of  starva- 
tion and  exposure,  and  there  they  hung  until  quite  recent 
times,  when  for  very  shame  the  few  remaining  bones 
were  removed.    The  cages  still  bans:  there. 


l8o  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

The  entire  responsibility  for  these  disorders  was  at  once 
thrown  upon  the  Anabaptists.  There  was  this  excuse  for 
so  doing,  that  several  of  the  ringleaders,  and  a  consider- 
able number  of  their  followers,  called  themselves  or  were 
called  by  that  name.  Yet  the  principles  of  Rothmann,  in 
his  writings  that  remain,  are  totally  opposed  to  his  con- 
duct at  Miinster.  In  none  of  the  Anabaptist  literature 
of  the  time  is  there  anything  but  horror  and  detestation 
expressed  for  the  Miinster  doings ;  and  even  before  they 
were  made  the  scapegoats  of  this  uprising,  their  writings 
were  full  of  reproofs  spoken  against  any  who  would  prop- 
agate religion  by  the  sword.  Miinster  was  not  more  de- 
cidedly contrary  to  the  teachings  of  the  reformers  than 
it  was  to  the  teachings  of  the  Anabaptists  generally.  It 
is  no  more  fair  to  hold  the  Anabaptists  as  a  whole  respon- 
sible for  what  occurred  there,  because  Matthys  and  Bock- 
hold  were  Anabaptists,  than  it  is  to  hold  the  Lutherans 
responsible  because  Rothmann  was  a  Lutheran  when  he 
began  his  evil  career.  Cornelius,  the  able  and  judicial 
Roman  Catholic  historian  of  the  Miinster  uproar,  says 
justly:  "  All  these  excesses  were  condemned  and  opposed 
wherever  a  large  assembly  of  the  brethren  afforded  an 
opportunity  to  give  expression  to  the  religious  con- 
sciousness of  the  Anabaptist  membership."  Fusslin,  a 
conscientious  and  impartial  German  investigator,  says : 
"  There  was  a  great  difference  between  Anabaptists  and 
Anabaptists.  There  were  those  amongst  them  who  held 
strange  doctrines,  but  this  cannot  be  said  of  the  whole 
sect.  If  we  should  attribute  to  every  sect  whatever  sense- 
less doctrines  two  or  three  fanciful  fellows  have  taught, 
there  is  no  one  in  the  world  to  whom  we  could  not  ascribe 
the  most  abominable  errors."  To  which  may  be  added 
the  conclusion  of  Ulhorn :  "  The  general  character  of  this 
whole  movement  was  peaceful,  in  spite  of  the  prevailing 
excitement.     Nobody  thought  of  carrying  out  the  new 


Mi'nstek — The  Chukch  of  St.   Lambert 


THE  OUTBREAK  OF   FANATICISM  l8l 

ideas  by  force.  In  striking  contrast  to  the  Miinzer  up- 
roar, meekness  and  suffering  were  here  understood  as  the 
most  essential  elements  of  the  Christian  ideal." 

But  though  scholarly  investigations,  with  substantial 
unanimity,  have  now  come  to  this  conclusion  regarding 
the  teachings  and  methods  of  German  Anabaptists,  this 
was  not  the  voice  of  contemporary  opinion;  that  visited 
the  sins  of  the  few  upon  the  many,  and  pronounced  all 
Anabaptists  alike  to  be  enemies  of  society  and  worthy 
of  any  punishment  that  could  be  devised.  The  most  atro- 
cious crimes  were  not  avenged  with  a  severity  greater 
than  was  visited  on  the  members  of  this  unfortunate  sect. 
The  severities  of  former  persecutions  were  far  exceeded, 
and  only  in  the  domain  of  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  was 
there  anything  like  moderation  or  justice  in  the  treatment 
meted  out  to  these  people.  This  prince  alone  among  the 
Protestant  rulers,  while  he  favored  the  punishment  of 
those  actually  concerned  in  the  Miinster  disorders,  de- 
clared that  merely  to  be  an  Anabaptist  was  not  a  capital 
crime :  "  To  punish  with  death  those  who  have  done 
nothing  more  than  err  in  the  faith,  cannot  be  justified  on 
gospel  grounds." 

A  gathering  of  Protestant  authorities  was  held  August 
7,  1536,  at  Homburg,  in  Hesse,  to  consider  the  policy 
proper  to  be  pursued  toward  the  Anabaptists.  Eight  rep- 
resentatives of  the  nobility,  seven  delegates  from  five 
cities,  and  ten  divines  were  present.  The  divines  sub- 
stantially agreed  with  Melanchthon,  whose  judgment  was : 
"  That  the  Anabaptists  may  and  should  be  restrained 
by  the  sword.  That  those  who  have  been  sent  into  ex- 
ile, and  do  not  abide  by  the  conditions,  are  to  be  punished 
by  the  sword."  The  representatives  of  the  cities,  particu- 
larly of  Ulm  and  Augsburg,  were  of  the  milder  opinion 
that  death  should  not  be  inflicted  as  a  punishment  of 
heresy,  though  other  severities  might  be  employed.    Such 


l82  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

of  the  nobles  as  spoke  favored  banishment,  on  pain  of 
death  in  case  of  return.  This  was  the  penalty  finally 
decided  upon. 

After  the  savage  persecution  following  the  downfall  of 
Miinster,  one  might  have  expected  the  Anabaptists  to 
have  been  extirpated.  Their  prominent  leaders,  it  is 
true,  disappeared,  some  being  put  to  death,  some  dying 
of  hardships  and  excessive  toils.  They  were  not  entirely 
without  leadership,  however,  and  their  dauntless  fidelity 
to  the  truth  continued.  In  JNIoravia,  about  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  there  were  seventy  communities 
of  Anabaptists,  prosperous  farmers  and  tradesmen,  ac- 
knowledged to  be  among  the  most  thrifty  and  law-abid- 
ing element  of  the  population.  In  Strassburg,  in  Augs- 
burg, in  Bohemia,  and  in  Moldavia,  they  were  also  found 
in  large  numbers,  and  wherever  found  they  were  marked 
men  by  reason  of  their  godly  lives  and  good  citizenship. 
Fifty  years  later,  however,  persecution  had  done  its  work 
only  too  well,  and  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  we 
find  the  Anabaptists  disappear  from  the  history  of  Ger- 
many. They  survived  somewhat  later  in  Poland,  where 
they  became  quite  numerous,  and  a  large  section  of  them 
adopted  the  Socinian  theology. 

The  German  Anabaptists  committed  the  one  sin  that 
this  world  never  pardons :  they  attempted  a  radical  revo- 
lution, which  would  ultimately  have  transformed  civil  and 
social  as  well  as  religious  institutions  and — they  failed. 
That  is  the  real  gist  of  their  offense.  Had  they  suc- 
ceeded, the  very  men  whom  historians  have  loaded  with 
execrations  would  have  been  held  up  as  the  greatest  and 
noblest  men  of  their  age.  The  fame  of  Luther  and 
Zwingli  and  Calvin  would  have  been  eclipsed  by  that  of 
Grebel  and  Hiibmaier  and  Denck,  if  the  labors  of  the 
Anabaptists  had  been  crowned  with  success.  The  true 
Reformation  was  that  with  which  they  were  identified. 


THE   OUTBREAK    OF    FANATICISM  183 

The  Reformation  that  actually  prevailed  in  the  sixteenth 
century  was  a  perversion  of  the  genuine  movement,  re- 
sulting from  the  unholy  alliance  with  the  State  made  by 
those  who  are  called  "  reformers."  Two  centuries  were 
required  before  the  fruits  of  a  real  Reformation  could 
ripen  for  the  gathering ;  and  it  was  in  America,  not  in 
Germany,  that  the  genuine  Reformation  culminated. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

MENNO  SIMONS  AND   HIS   FOLLOWERS 

IF  the  disappearance  of  the  Anabaptists  from  Germany 
had  been  as  complete  in  reality  as  it  was  in  appear- 
ance, it  would  furnish  a  curious  historical  problem  to  ex- 
plain so  sudden  a  cessation  of  evangelical  teaching  and 
practice.  But  the  student  of  history  is  not  long  in  dis- 
covering that  the  Anabaptists  did  not  disappear ;  they 
only  took  a  different  name.  They  had  never  chosen  the 
name  Anabaptist,  and  had  always  maintained  that  it  was 
not  properly  applied  to  them.  Now  that  the  name  had 
come  to  be  a  synonym  for  all  that  was  fanatical  in  creed 
and  immoral  in  conduct,  they  were  only  too  glad  to  be 
rid  of  the  hateful  title — as  hateful  to  them  as  to  their 
oppressors.  As  before,  so  now  and  after,  these  people 
called  themselves  simply  "  the  brethren,"  but  in  common 
speech  a  new  name  came  to  be  applied  to  them  about  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century ;  they  were  known  as 
Mennonites. 

Of  Menno,  surnamed  Simons,  we  know  little,  save 
what  he  himself  has  told  us.  He  was  born  in  Witmar- 
son,  Friesland,  in  1496  or  1497.  He  was  educated  for 
the  priesthood,  and  in  1524  he  undertook  the  duties  of 
a  priest  in  his  father's  village,  called  Pingjum.  A  year 
thereafter,  while  officiating  at  the  altar,  the  thought  oc- 
curred to  him  that  the  bread  and  wine  in  the  mass  were 
not  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  but  he  put  the  idea 
from  him  as  a  temptation  of  the  devil.  He  feared  to 
study  the  Scriptures  lest  they  mislead  him.  His  life  was 
godless  and  dissipated.  After  a  time  he  began  to  study 
184 


MENNO   SIMONS   AND    HIS   FOLLOWERS  185 

the  Scriptures,  and  received  some  light  from  them,  though 
his  heart  was  still  unchanged. 

While  in  this  state  of  mind  Menno  heard  of  the  martyr- 
dom of  one  Sicke  Freerks  or  Frierichs,  more  commonly 
known  by  his  surname  of  Snyder,  which  designated  him 
as  a  tailor.  On  the  30th  of  March,  1531,  this  faithful  be- 
liever was  condemned,  as  the  court  record  reads,  "to  be 
executed  by  the  sword;  his  body  shall  be  laid  on  the 
wheel,  and  his  head  set  on  a  stake,  because  he  has  been 
rebaptized  and  perseveres  in  that  baptism  " ;  all  of  which 
was  duly  done  at  Leeuwarden.  The  blood  of  that  poor 
tailor  produced  a  host  of  followers  to  the  Lord,  for  whom 
he  joyfully  gave  all  that  he  had,  even  his  life;  for  it  led 
Menno  Simons,  after  a  long  and  hard  struggle,  to 
decisive  action. 

At  first  he  was  merely  surprised  to  hear  that  this  man 
suffered  on  account  of  what  was  called  a  second  baptism. 
He  studied  the  Scriptures,  but  could  find  in  them  nothing 
about  infant  baptism.  He  consulted  in  turn  Luther, 
Bucer,  and  Bullinger,  but  they  gave  him  no  help,  for  he 
saw  that  the  arguments  by  which  they  supported  the 
practice  had  no  foundation  in  the  Scriptures.  Though 
he  now  came  gradually  to  a  fuller  knowledge  of  God's 
truth,  and  to  some  outward  amendment  of  his  life,  he 
still  held  back  from  what  he  knew  to  be  his  duty.  He 
was  ambitious,  and  hesitated  to  break  with  the  church, 
in  which  he  hoped  for  a  career  and  fame.  For  a  time 
he  attempted  to  compromise  with  his  conscience,  and 
preached  the  truth  publicly  from  the  pulpit.  Finally,  he 
says,  after  about  nine  months  of  such  preaching,  the  Lord 
granted  him  his  Spirit  and  power,  and  he  then  renounced 
all  his  worldly  honor  and  reputation,  separated  himself 
from  the  church  and  its  errors,  and  willingly  submitted 
to  distress  and  poverty. 

This  was  about  the  year  1536,  and  it  seems  to  have 


l86  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

been  Menno's  intention  to  lead  the  quiet  life  of  a  student 
and  writer.  But  about  a  year  later,  a  small  group  of 
believers  came  to  him  and  urged  him  to  remember  the 
needs  of  the  poor,  hungry  souls,  and  make  better  use  of 
the  talents  he  had  from  the  Lord.  Accordingly,  he  began 
to  preach  the  gospel,  and  continued  to  make  known  the 
truth  with  voice  and  pen  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

Though  not  without  frequent  interruptions,  his  labors 
were  practically  continuous  and  very  fruitful.  At  the 
beginning,  the  Anabaptists  were  greatly  divided,  as  well 
as  discouraged.  One  party  still  held  to  the  views  that 
had  been  practically  embodied  at  Miinster ;  they  defended 
polygamy,  believed  in  the  speedy  second  coming  of  Christ, 
a  second  time  incarnated  to  set  up  an  earthly  kingdom, 
which  his  followers  were  to  defend  and  extend  by  the 
sword.  The  other  party  condemned  polygamy  and  the 
sword.  The  strife  was  keen,  but  the  weight  of  Menno's 
influence  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  purity  and  peace. 
From  the  first  he  repudiated  the  ideas  of  Munster.  In 
his  "  Exit  from  Papacy  "  he  wrote  as  follows :  "  Beloved 
reader,  we  have  been  falsely  accused  by  our  opponents  of 
defending  the  doctrine  of  Munsterites,  with  respect  to 
king,  sword,  revolution,  self-defense,  polygamy,  and  many 
similar  abominations ;  but  know,  my  good  reader,  that 
never  in  my  life  have  I  assented  to  those  articles  of  the 
Miinster  Confession ;  but  for  more  than  seventeen  years, 
according  to  my  small  gift,  I  have  warned  and  opposed 
them  in  their  abominable  errors.  I  have,  by  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  brought  some  of  them  to  the  right  way.  Miin- 
ster I  have  never  seen  in  all  my  life.  I  have  never  been 
in  their  communion.  I  hope,  by  God's  grace,  with  such 
never  to  eat  or  drink  (as  the  Scriptures  teach),  except 
they  confess  from  the  heart  their  abominations  and  bring 
forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance  and  truly  follow  the 
gospel." 


Page  1 86 


MeNXO    SlMf)NS 


MENNO   SIMONS   AND    HIS   FOLLOWERS  187 

Menno  was  an  apostle  of  the  truth,  preaching  and 
founding  churches  across  the  whole  of  Northern  Europe, 
from  France  to  Russia.  In  spite  of  the  severest  edicts 
and  the  bloodiest  persecutions,  he  continued  faithful  to 
his  calling,  and  found  willing  hearers  of  the  gospel 
wherever  he  went.  He  enforced  a  strict  standard  of 
morals,  repressed  all  tendencies  toward  fanaticism,  and 
gradually  molded  his  followers  into  the  mild,  peaceful, 
and  moral  people  that  the  Alennonites  have  ever  since 
been.  His  last  years  were  spent  in  Holstein,  where  he 
died  January  13,  1561,  in  his  sixty-sixth  year.  He  was  a 
voluminous  writer,  and  during  his  last  decade  he  estab- 
lished a  printing-press  and  secured  the  wide  circulation 
of  his  writings.  These  are  mostly  in  the  Dutch  language, 
though  some  were  originally  written  in  "  Oostersch  "  and 
very  badly  translated  into  Dutch.  The  issue  of  his  "  Fun- 
damental Book  of  the  True  Christian  Faith,"  in  1539,  es- 
tablished his  doctrinal  teaching  on  solid  grounds.  It  dif- 
fered from  the  Reformed  theology  only  in  maintaining 
the  spiritual  idea  of  the  church,  as  a  communion  of  true 
saints,  and  the  necessary  consequence  of  this  idea,  the 
rejection  of  infant  baptism. 

]\Ienno  owed  his  prolonged  life  and  labors  in  part  to 
the  fact  that  he  was  content  to  work  very  quietly  and 
obscurely,  in  part  to  the  protection  that  he  received  at 
various  times  from  several  princes  and  noblemen,  who 
were  favorable  to  evangelical  teachings.  He  had  many 
narrow  escapes,  some  of  which  seem  like  special  interpo- 
sitions of  Providence  on  his  behalf.  His  daughter  relates 
that  a  traitor  who  had  agreed  without  fail,  for  a  certain 
sum  of  money,  to  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  his  ene- 
mies, after  several  failures  one  day  met  Menno,  being 
then  in  the  company  of  an  officer  in  search  of  the  heretic 
preacher.  Menno  was  going  along  the  canal  in  a  small 
boat.     The  traitor  kept  silence  until  Menno  had  passed 


l88  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

them  some  distance,  and  had  leaped  ashore  in  order  to 
escape  with  less  peril.  Then  the  traitor  cried  out,  "  Be- 
hold, the  bird  has  escaped !  "  The  officer  chastised  him, 
called  him  a  villain,  and  demanded  why  he  did  not  speak 
in  time,  to  which  the  traitor  replied,  "  I  could  not  speak, 
for  my  tongue  was  bound."  It  is  said  the  authorities 
were  so  displeased  with  the  man  that,  according  to  his 
pledge,  he  had  to  forfeit  his  own  head. 

Certainly  this  servant  of  God  was  pursued  with  great 
bitterness.  The  governor  of  Friesland  issued  a  proclama- 
tion, under  date  of  December  7,  1542,  in  which  it  was  de- 
clared that  any  one  who  gave  food  or  lodging,  or  any 
assistance  to  Menno  Simons,  or  should  have  any  of  his 
books,  should  be  liable  to  the  penalties  of  heresy.  This 
was  no  empty  threat;  before  this,  in  1539,  one  Tjaert 
Reyndertz  or  Reynderson,  was  arraigned  for  the  offense 
of  lodging  Menno  in  his  house,  was  stretched  on  the 
wheel  and  finally  beheaded.  These  local  persecutions  and 
edicts  were  doubtless  inspired  by  the  general  edict  of 
Charles  V.,  executed  at  Brussels,  June  10,  1535,  which 
commanded  that  all  Anabaptists  or  re-baptizers  and  their 
abettors  should  be  put  to  death  by  fire;  those  who  sin- 
cerely repented  and  renounced  their  errors  should  be  be- 
headed, and  the  women  should  be  buried  alive.  Buckle, 
in  his  "  History  of  Civilization,"  estimates  that  by  1546, 
thirty  thousand  persons  had  been  put  to  death  for  Ana- 
baptism  in  Holland  and  Friesland  alone.  And  yet  it  is 
held  by  many  historians  that  this  decree  was  never  gen- 
erally enforced.  Had  it  been,  one  must  think  the  country 
would  have  been  nearly  depopulated. 

In  spite  of  such  measures,  the  churches  established  by 
Menno  and  his  fellow-laborers  increased  in  numbers  rap- 
idly. Their  growth  may  be  explained  by  two  causes,  of 
which  one  has  already  been  mentioned.  The  change  of 
name  was  greatly  in  their  favor.    To  say  "  Anabaptist " 


MENNO   SIMONS   AND    HIS   FOLLOWERS  1 89 

produced  much  the  same  effect  in  those  days  that  the  cry 
of  "  mad  dog  "  does  in  ours.  To  say  "  Mennonite,"  at 
most  provoked  a  feeUng  of  mild  curiosity  as  to  what  this 
new  sect  might  be — so  much  is  there  in  a  name,  Shakes- 
peare to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  A  second  thing 
greatly  in  favor  of  this  new  development  of  the  Anabap- 
tists, was  the  fact  that  the  Netherlands  soon  came  to  favor 
a  much  greater  measure  of  religious  liberty  than  was 
found  anywhere  else  in  Europe.  In  1572  the  Netherlands 
revolted  from  the  authority  of  the  Spanish  crown,  and  in 
1579  formed  a  federal  union,  with  the  Prince  of  Orange 
at  its  head.  He  was  the  most  liberal-minded  prince  in 
Europe,  and  was  strongly  opposed  to  all  persecution  on 
religious  grounds.  To  his  influence  chiefly  the  Menno- 
nites  owed  their  long  immunity  from  active  persecution, 
for  the  clergy  of  the  Reformed  Church  (which  became 
the  established  religion  of  the  Netherlands)  were  gen- 
erally opposed  to  toleration,  and  many  times  attempted 
to  stir  up  the  government  against  the  Mennonites.  After 
1581  the  mild,  peaceable,  and  law-abiding  character  of 
this  people  gained  for  them  a  measure  of  toleration  that 
other  Anabaptist  bodies  failed  to  enjoy;  and  with  the  in- 
dependence of  the  Netherlands  came  religious  freedom, 
the  Mennonites  being  formally  recognized  in  1672.  This 
is  probably  the  reason  why  they  alone,  of  the  Anabaptist 
parties  of  the  Reformation,  have  survived  to  the  present 
day. 

One  branch  of  Menno's  followers,  those  especially  in 
Lithuania,  at  the  invitation  of  Empress  Catherine  II., 
emigrated  to  Russia,  and  there  founded  flourishing  agri- 
cultural communities,  especially  in  the  Crimea.  They 
were  for  a  long  time  treated  with  exceptional  favor, 
their  faith  not  only  being  tolerated,  but  the  male  mem- 
bers being  exempted  from  military  service  on  account  of 
their    religious    scruples    against   bearing    arms.      Their 


190  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

descendants  abode  there  until,  in  1871,  an  imperial  decree 
deprived  them  of  this  exemption,  since  when  many  of 
them  have  emigrated  to  America,  forming  strong  colonies 
in  several  of  our  Western  States.  Many  others  have 
come  from  Holland  and  elsewhere,  and  the  majority  of 
Mennonites  are  now  found  on  American  soil.  In  the 
census  of  1890  twelve  branches  are  reported,  with  slight 
differences  in  polity  and  doctrine,  aggregating  a  mem- 
bership of  forty-one  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-one. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  from  the  first, 
afifusion  was  generally  practised  for  baptism  by  the  Men- 
nonites. Menno  himself  at  times  uses  language  that 
would  seem  to  imply  immersion,  as  when  he  says,  "  We 
find  but  one  baptism  in  the  water,  pleasing  to  God,  which 
is  expressed  and  contained  in  his  word,  namely,  baptism 
on  the  confession  of  faith.  .  .  But  of  this  other  bap- 
tism, that  is,  infant  baptism,  we  find  nothing."  Yet  that 
he  could  have  had  an  immersion  in  mind  as  the  act  of 
baptism  is  irreconcilable  with  his  speaking  of  it  elsewhere 
as  "  to  have  a  handful  of  water  applied."  While  he  was 
perfectly  clear  about  the  scriptural  teaching  regarding 
the  subject  of  baptism,  he  appears  to  have  considered  the 
act  as  a  relatively  unimportant  matter.  He  was  content 
to  follow  the  prevailing  practice  of  his  time,  and  so  were 
his  followers. 

But  while  the  Mennonites  as  a  whole  have  doubtless 
from  the  first  practised  affusion,  there  have  been  and  are 
some  exceptions.  The  congregation  at  Rynsburg,  known 
as  Collegiants,  adopted  immersion  in  1619,  a  fact  that  had 
important  relations  to  the  Baptists  of  England,  as  we 
shall  see.  One  branch  in  the  United  States,  that  coming 
from  Russia,  practises  immersion  exclusively,  and  another 
branch  immerses  by  preference,  but  afifuses  those  who 
prefer  that  form. 

Neither  their  love  of  Christ  nor  their  fear  of  persecu- 


MENNO   SIMONS   AND    HIS   FOLLOWERS  I9I 

tion  was  able  to  keep  the  Anabaptists  of  the  sixteenth 
century  from  internal  dissensions ;  and  this  was  especially 
true  of  the  followers  of  Menno.  Since  they  had  no 
formal  creeds  and  professed  the  Scriptures  alone  as  their 
standard  of  faith  and  practice,  it  was  natural  that  con- 
siderable differences  should  arise  among  them.  They  be- 
came divided  into  High  and  Low  (Obere  and  Untere). 
The  former  held  to  vigorous  discipline,  or  the  "  ban." 
The  Low  party  would  reserve  the  "  ban  "  for  cases  of 
flagrant  immorality.  This  division  dates  from  the  time 
of  Menno  himself,  who  was  inclined  towards  a  more  strict 
use  of  the  ban  than  many  of  his  followers  approved.  A 
synod  or  assembly  of  the  brethren  held  at  Strassburg  in 
1555,  felt  constrained  to  protest  against  what  they  be- 
lieved to  be  Menno's  excessive  strictness,  especially  in 
requiring  a  husband  or  wife  to  refuse  cohabitation  with 
an  excluded  partner. 

Some  of  the  disputes  that  arose  among  the  brethren 
deserve  a  place  in  the  curiosities  of  literature.  Such  is 
the  button  controversy,  which  arose  in  this  wise:  The 
traditional  method  of  fastening  the  gowns  of  women  and 
the  coats  of  men  had  been  hooks  and  eyes.  The  Menno- 
nites  held  views  about  soberness  of  dress  and  shunning 
conformity  to  the  fashions  of  the  world  similar  to  those 
afterward  associated  with  the  Friends  or  Quakers.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  buttons  were  invented  and  introduced, 
the  use  of  them  on  a  garment  was  held  to  be  the  badge 
of  a  carnal  mind,  it  was  a  conformity  to  the  spirit  of  this 
world  unworthy  of  a  true  Christian.  This  was  the 
ground  on  which  this  apparently  trivial  controversy  was 
fiercely  fought  for  generations ;  and  to  this  day  some  of 
the  descendants  of  the  High  party,  even  in  this  country, 
fasten  their  coats  with  the  old-fashioned  hooks  and  eyes 
and  are  popularly  known  as  "  Hook-and-eye  Dutch." 
In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  High  party  demanded 


192  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

a  discipline  extending  far  beyond  Scripture  precedent, 
and  concerning  itself  with  the  minutest  details  of  daily- 
living.  The  Low  party  was  in  favor  of  a  more  rational 
measure  of  Christian  liberty.  In  some  cases  the  High 
party  also  insisted  as  an  article  of  faith  on  letting  the 
beard  grow,  while  the  Low  party  denied  that  the  use  of 
the  razor  was  contrary  to  the  word  of  God. 

The  Mennonite  churches  were  not  content,  however, 
with  establishing  general  rules ;  they  undertook  to  regu- 
late the  daily  lives  of  their  members,  and  to  interfere  with 
all  manner  of  private  concerns.  The  results  produced  by 
this  policy  are  well  illustrated  by  the  Bintgens  case. 
Bintgens  was  an  elder  in  the  Franecker  church,  and  hav- 
ing occasion  to  purchase  a  house  for  seven  hundred 
florins,  permitted  the  seller  to  insert  in  the  deed  a  valu- 
ation of  eight  hundred  florins.  It  was  not  charged  that 
Bintgens  profited  by  the  transaction  or  that  anybody  lost ; 
but  he  had  been  a  party  to  a  deception,  and  that  was 
enough.  When  the  matter  was  brought  before  the 
church,  Bintgens  professed  sorrow  for  his  error,  and  his 
statement  was  accepted.  Later  a  party  in  the  church 
demanded  his  deposition  from  the  eldership.  Three  suc- 
cessive councils  failed  to  effect  a  settlement,  and  neigh- 
boring churches  became  involved  in  the  matter.  For 
years  the  contest  raged,  some  churches  becoming  hope- 
lessly divided,  others  withdrawing  fellowship  from  sister 
churches  whose  attitude  they  did  not  approve,  and  great 
scandal  being  brought  upon  the  name  of  the  brethren  by 
this  bitter  contentiousness  over  so  slight  a  matter.  "  Be- 
hold how  great  a  forest  is  kindled  by  how  small  a  fire." 

Followers  of  Alenno  appeared  in  England  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  as  we  learn  from  many  historical  docu- 
ments. They  fled  thither  to  escape  the  persecutions  that 
then  raged  in  Holland,  but  in  this  they  were  doomed  to 
disappointment,  for  England  harried  the  Anabaptists  no 


MENNO    SIMONS   AND    IIIS    FOLLOWERS  I93 

less  than  Holland,  casting  them  into  prison  and  burning 
them  at  the  stake.  Our  information  regarding  these 
people  is  mainly  confined  to  royal  proclamations  against 
them,  and  to  the  records  of  their  arrest,  trial,  and 
punishment. 

In  1534,  after  the  Act  of  Supremacy  made  Henry  VHI. 
the  supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  England,  he  issued 
two  proclamations  against  heretics,  in  which  the  Ana- 
baptists were  especially  named.  They  were  first  warned 
to  leave  the  kingdom  within  ten  days,  and  then  severer 
measures  were  taken  against  them.  In  the  ten  articles 
published  by  royal  authority  in  1536,  the  error  of  the 
Anabaptists  regarding  the  baptism  of  children  is  singled 
out  for  special  reprobation.  It  is  a  matter  of  record  that 
in  this  same  year  nineteen  Dutch  Anabaptists  were  ar- 
rested, and  fourteen  were  burned.  Ten  are  said  to  have 
likewise  perished  in  the  preceding  year.  Bishop  Latimer, 
who  was  himself  to  suffer  in  like  manner  for  the  truth 
a  few  years  later,  says  of  these  executions :  "  The  Ana- 
baptists that  were  burnt  here  in  divers  towns  in  England, 
as  I  heard  of  credible  men,  I  saw  them  not  myself, 
went  to  their  death  even  intrepidc,  as  ye  will  say,  without 
any  fear  in  the  world,  cheerfully;  well,  let  them  go." 

In  1538  another  proclamation  was  issued  against  here- 
tics, who  had  in  the  meantime  increased  rapidly,  and  a 
commission  of  Cranmer  and  eight  bishops  was  appointed 
to  proceed  against  such  by  way  of  inquisition.  Any  who 
remained  obdurate  were  to  be  committed,  with  their  her- 
etical books  and  manuscripts,  to  the  flames.  Four  Dutch 
Anabaptists  were  burned  in  consequence  at  Paul's  Cross 
and  two  at  Smithfield. 

That  these  Anabaptists  were  really  an  inoffensive  folk, 
who  were  punished  solely  for  religious  offenses,  is  proved 
by  still  another  proclamation  of  Henry  VIII.,  issued  in 
1540,  in  which  their  alleged  heresies  were  thus  enumer- 

N 


194  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

atecl :  "  Infants  ought  not  to  be  baptized ;  it  is  not  lawful 
for  a  Christian  man  to  bear  office  or  rule  in  the  common- 
wealth ;  every  manner  of  death,  with  the  time  and  hour 
thereof,  is  so  certainly  prescribed,  appointed,  and  deter- 
mined to  every  man  by  God,  that  neither  any  prince  by 
his  word  can  alter  it,  nor  any  man  by  his  wilfulness 
prevent  or  change  it." 

In  the  sermons  of  Roger  Hutchinson,  published  by 
the  Parker  Society,  is  a  discourse  preached  prior  to  1560, 
the  following  from  which  describes  one  tenet  on  which 
the  Anabaptists  of  that  day  laid  special  stress : 

Whether  may  a  man  sue  forfeits  against  regrators,  forestallers, 
and  other  oppressors?  Or  ought  patience  to  restrain  us  from  all 
suit  and  contention?  "Aye,"  saith  master  Anabaptist;  "for 
Christ  our  Master,  whose  example  we  must  follow,  he  would 
not  condemn  an  advoutress  woman  to  be  stoned  to  death,  ac- 
cording to  the  law,  but  shewed  pity  to  her,  and  said,  '  Go  and 
sin  no  more '  (John  8)  ;  neither  would  he,  being  desired  to 
be  an  arbiter,  judge  between  two  brethren  and  determine  their 
suit  (Luke  12).  When  the  people  would  have  made  him  their 
king  he  conveyed  himself  out  of  sight,  and  would  not  take  on 
himself  such  office.  Christ  the  Son  of  God  would  not  have 
refused  these  functions  and  offices  if  with  the  profession  of  a 
Christian  man  it  were  agreeable  with  the  temporal  sword  to 
punish  offenders,  to  sustain  any  pubHc  room,  and  to  determine 
controversies  and  suits ;  if  it  were  lawful  for  private  men  to 
persecute  such  suits,  and  to  sue  just  and  rightful  titles.  He 
non  est  dominatus  sed  passus;  would  be  no  magistrate,  no  judge, 
no  governor,  but  suffered  and  sustained  trouble,  injury,  wrong, 
and  oppression  patiently.  And  so  must  we;  for  Paul  saith, 
'  That  those  which  he  foreknew  he  also  ordained  before — ut 
essent  conformcs  imagini  Filii  sui — that  they  should  be  ahke 
fashioned  into  the  shape  of  his  Son.' " 

By  1550  the  growth  of  the  Anabaptists,  especially  in 
Kent  and  Essex,  so  disquieted  those  in  power  that  a  new 
commission  was  issued  in  the  name  of  the  young  king, 
Edward  VI.,  with  special  powers  to  discover  and  punish 


William  uk  Uhanue 


MENNO   SIMONS   AND    HIS   FOLLOWERS  I95 

all  Anabaptists.  Cranmer,  Latimer,  and  other  notable 
reformers  were  members  of  this  body.  It  was  by  their 
agency  that  Joan  Boucher,  of  Kent,  was  burned  for  her- 
esy. Her  error  was  that  she  held  a  doctrine  common 
among  the  German  Anabaptists,  from  the  time  of  Mel- 
chior  Hofmann,  and  given  further  currency  by  the  ad- 
hesion of  Menno  Simons,  that  though  Jesus  was  born 
of  Mary  he  did  not  inherit  her  flesh ;  the  idea  being  that 
if  he  had,  he  must  have  shared  her  sinful  human  nature. 
It  was  crude  theology,  but  the  harmless  error  of  un- 
trained minds.  A  wise  church  and  one  really  moved  by 
the  spirit  of  Christ  would  have  winked  at  a  matter  that 
so  slightly  concerned  a  godly  life ;  but  for  this  offense, 
and  the  kindred  crime  of  being  an  Anabaptist,  Joan  of 
Kent  suffered  death  at  the  stake. 

Elizabeth  was  faithful  to  the  traditions  of  her  race,  and 
in  1560  she  warned  all  Anabaptists  and  other  sectaries 
to  depart  from  her  realm  within  twenty-one  days,  on  pain 
of  imprisonment  and  forfeiture  of  goods.  This  was  a 
peculiar  hardship  in  the  years  immediately  following,  for 
persecution  was  raging  in  the  Netherlands,  and  England 
was  the  natural  refuge  of  the  oppressed  Anabaptists. 
Later  in  her  reign,  Elizabeth's  relations  with  the  Prot- 
estant States  on  the  Continent  led  her  to  relax  the  rigors 
of  persecution,  but  in  the  meantime  fleeing  from  Holland 
to  England  was  a  leap  from  fire  to  fire.  The  year  1575 
is  memorable  for  a  special  persecution.  Thirty  Dutch 
Anabaptists  were  arrested  in  London  in  the  very  act  of 
holding  a  conventicle.  Most  of  them  were  finally  re- 
leased, after  a  long  detention  in  prison,  but  Jan  Pieters 
and  Hendrik  Terwoort  were  burned  for  rejecting  infant 
baptism  and  the  bearing  of  arms.  A  Confession  of  Faith 
that  Terwoort  penned  while  in  prison  contains  the  first 
declaration  in  favor  of  complete  religious  liberty  made 
on  English  soil : 


196  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

Observe  well  the  command  of  God :  "  Thou  shalt  love  the 
stranger  as  thyself."  Should  he  then  who  is  in  misery,  and 
dwelling  in  a  strange  land,  be  driven  thence  with  his  companions, 
to  their  great  damage?  Of  this  Christ  speaks,  "Whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them :  for 
this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets."  Oh,  that  they  would  deal  with 
us  according  to  natural  reasonableness  and  evangelical  truth,  of 
which  our  persecutors  so  highly  boast !  For  Christ  and  his 
disciples  persecuted  no  one ;  on  the  contrary,  Jesus  hath  thus 
taught,  "  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,"  etc.  This 
doctrine  Christ  left  behind  with  his  apostles,  as  they  testify. 
Thus  Paul,  "  Unto  this  present  hour  we  both  hunger,  and  thirst, 
and  are  naked,  and  are  buffeted,  and  have  no  certain  dwelling 
place ;  and  labor,  working  with  our  own  hands ;  being  reviled, 
we  bless ;  being  persecuted,  we  suffer  it."  From  all  this  it  is 
clear,  that  those  who  have  the  one  true  gospel  doctrine  and 
faith  will  persecute  no  one,  but  will  themselves  be  persecuted. 

The  writings  of  this  period  and  the  pubhshed  sermons 
of  EngHsh  divines  (such  as  Latimer,  Cranmer,  Hutchin- 
son, Whitgift,  and  Coverdale)  are  full  of  references  to 
the  Anabaptists  and  their  heresies.  Occasionally  some 
light  is  thrown  upon  the  question  of  their  teachings. 
Thus,  in  1589,  Doctor  Some  wrote  "A  Godly  Treatise," 
in  which  he  charged  the  Anabaptists  with  holding  the 
following  deadly  errors : 

That  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  ought  to  be  maintained  by 
the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people ; 

That  the  civil  power  has  no  right  to  make  and  impose 
ecclesiastical   laws ; 

That  people  ought  to  have  the  right  of  choosing  their  own 
ministers ; 

That  the  high  commiccion  court  was  an  anti-Christian 
usurpation; 

That  those  who  are  qualified  to  preach  ought  not  to  be 
hindered  by  the  civil  power,  etc. 

Traces  of  the  presence  in  England  of  Anabaptists  of 
foreign  origin  continue  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  but 


MENNO   SIMONS   AND    HIS    FOLLOWERS  197 

with  the  decHne  of  persecution  on  the  Continent  their 
numbers  dwindled,  and  they  at  length  disappeared.  They 
may  have  converted  to  their  views  a  few  Englishmen  here 
and  there,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  have  made  any  per- 
manent impression  on  the  English  people,  nor  is  the  his- 
torical connection  clear  between  them  and  the  later  bodies 
of  Englishmen  bearing  the  same  name. 

The  last  person  burned  at  the  stake  in  England,  during 
the  reign  of  James  I.,  Edward  Wightman,  was  an  Ana- 
baptist.    Almost  nothing  is  known  of  him  previous  to 
his  arrest,  except  that  he  was  a  resident  and  probably  a 
native  of  Leicestershire.     Whether  he  was  a  member  of 
an  Anabaptist  church,  and  if  so,  w^here  the  church  met, 
is  not  known.     He  was  arrested  in  March,  1611,  and  the 
proceedings  against  him  occupied  a  whole  year.     In  his 
examination  fourteen  specific  questions  were  propounded, 
with  the  object  of  making  clear  his  heresies.    In  reply  to 
these  questions  he  declared  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the 
Trinity,  that  Christ  is  not  of  the  same  substance  as  the 
Father,  but  only  a  man ;  he  denied  that  Christ  took  human 
flesh  of  the  substance  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  ^  he  affirmed 
that  the  soul  sleeps  in  the  sleep  of  the  first  death  as  well 
as  the  body ;  he  declared  the  baptism  of  infants  to  be  an 
abominable  custom ;  he  affirmed  that  there  ought  not  to 
be  in  the  church  the  use  of  the  sacraments  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  to  be  celebrated  in  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine, 
and  of  baptism  to  be  celebrated  in  the  element  of  water, 
as  they  are"  now  practised  in  the  Church  of  England ;  but 
only  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  to  be  administered   in 
water  to   converts   of   sufficient   age   of   understanding, 
converted  from  infidelity  to  the  faith. 

From  this  it  is  evident  that  Wightman's  views  were 
derived  from  the  Continental  Anabaptists,  and  apparently 

iThe    Hofmann    heresy,    for    which    Joan    Boucher    also    suffered.     This 
clearly  marks  the  connection  of  Wightman  with  the  Continental  Anabaptists. 


198  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

from  those  who  had  come  from  Poland,  or  in  some  way 
imbibed  the  teachings  of  Socinus.  He  may  also  have  de- 
rived from  that  source  his  idea  about  immersion,  if  his 
language  implies  that,  which  is  not  quite  certain.  For 
"  baptism  to  be  celebrated  in  the  element  of  water  "  must 
be  read  in  connection  with  "  Lord's  Supper  to  be  cele- 
brated in  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine."  And  it  seems 
entirely  probable  that  in  the  one  case  "  in  "  has  the  force 
of  "  with  "  as  in  the  other,  and  has  no  reference  to  the 
act — a  conclusion  made  still  more  probable  by  the  added 
phrase  "  as  they  are  now  practised  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land." The  practice  of  the  Church  of  England  then  was 
to  celebrate  baptism  in  the  element  of  water  by  pour- 
ing it  upon  the  head  of  a  babe.  Wightman  objected  to 
the  babe;  he  does  not  make  it  clear  that  he  objected  to 
the  pouring.  His  death  occurred  April  11,  1612,  and  so 
profound  was  the  sensation  caused  that  no  further 
executions  for  heresy  occurred. 


PART   II 
A   HISTORY   OF   BAPTIST   CHURCHES 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE   EARLY  DAYS 

WITH  the  first  decade  of  the  seventeenth  century 
we  reach  solid  ground  in  Baptist  history.  Be- 
fore that  we  must  proceed  by  conjecture  from  one  iso- 
lated fact  to  another,  and  many  of  our  conclusions  are 
open  to  doubt;  but  after  1610  we  have  an  unbroken  suc- 
cession of  Baptist  churches,  established  by  indubitable 
documentary  evidence.  The  most  that  we  can  say  of  the 
various  Anabaptist  groups  of  the  Continent,  is  that  on 
the  whole  certain  of  them  seem  to  have  held  those  views 
of  Scripture  teaching  that  are  fundamental  in  the  Baptist 
faith  of  to-day.  But  from  about  the  year  1641,  at  latest, 
Baptist  doctrine  and  practice  have  been  the  same  in  all 
essential  features  that  they  are  to-day.  Subsequent 
changes  have  not  affected  the  substance  of  faith  or  the 
chief  matters  of  practice  in  the  denomination  as  a  whole. 
The  history  of  English  Baptists  does  not  begin  on 
English  soil,  but  in  Holland.  The  leader  in  the  new 
movement  was  the  Rev.  John  Smyth.  Much  obscurity 
hangs  over  his  early  life,  and  he  has  by  many  writers 
been  identified  with  several  other  men,  bearing  a  name 
then  as  now  very  common.  He  was  a  pupil  and  friend 
at  Cambridge  University  of  Francis  Johnson,  later  one 
of  the  Separatist  leaders.  As  Johnson  did  not  matricu- 
late until  1579,  it  follows  that  this  cannot  have  been  the 
John  Smyth  who  matriculated  as  sizar  in  1571.  John 
Smyth  took  his  Master's  degree  in  1593,  whence  we 
may  conclude  that  he  was  born  not  later  than  1570,  and 
possibly  several  years  earlier.     He  is  said  to  have  been 


202  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

ordained  by  Bishop  Wickham,  of  Lincoln,  but  he  was 
never,  as  has  been  frequently  stated,  vicar  of  Gains- 
borough, as  the  records  of  that  parish  show.  He  was, 
however,  appointed  lecturer  or  preacher  in  the  city  of 
Lincoln,  September  27,  1600;  and  though  deposed  as  "  a 
facetious  man"  by  vote  of  the  Corporation,  October  13, 
1602,  appears  to  have  held  the  office  until  1605. 

He  tells  us  himself  that  he  passed  through  nine  months 
of  doubt  and  study  before  deciding  to  leave  the  Church 
of  England,  but  by  1606  he  had  reached  a  decision  and 
joined  himself  to  a  company  of  Separatists  in  Gains- 
borough, of  whom  he  became  the  recognized  "  teacher  " 
— for  they  disliked  "  ministers  "  and  all  similar  terms. 
Thomas  Helwys  and  John  Murton  were  the  leading 
members  of  this  group.  A  few  miles  distant,  in  the 
manor  of  Scrooby,  there  was  another  group  of  Sep- 
aratists, in  close  fellowship  with  the  Gainsborough  group. 
Prominent  among  the  Scrooby  group  were  William  Brad- 
ford, William  Brewster,  and  John  Robinson,  the  last 
being  the  "  teacher."  Scattered  throughout  the  surround- 
ing region  were  a  score  or  more  of  adherents,  who  were 
rapidly  increasing  in  numbers. 

This  was  the  time  when  James  L  was  vigorously  mak- 
ing good  his  threat  regarding  sectaries  in  England : 
**  I  will  make  them  conform,  or  I  will  harry  them  out  of 
the  land."  Persecution  became  so  violent  that  these  Sep- 
aratists despaired  of  maintaining  themselves  in  England, 
and  Thomas  Helwys,  whose  wife  had  been  imprisoned 
for  her  schism,  induced  the  Gainsborough  group  to  emi- 
grate to  Holland.  They  established  themselves  at  Am- 
sterdam, where  they  became  the  second  English  church, 
and  their  teacher  supported  himself  by  practising 
medicine. 

The  first  English  church  was  composed  of  Separatists, 
mostly  from  London,  who  had  come  to  Amsterdam  at 


THE   EARLY   DAYS  203 

various  times  from  1593  onward,  and  had  as  their  pastor 
Francis  Johnson,  who  had  been  a  tutor  of  Smyth  at 
Cambridge.  Not  long  after  the  Gainsborough  exodus, 
the  church  of  Scrooby  fled  to  Holland,  going  first  to 
Amsterdam  and  thence  to  Leyden.  Their  pastor  was 
John  Robinson.  It  was  this  congregation,  with  certain 
additions,  that  afterward  became  the  Pilgrims  of  the 
Mayflower. 

Our  concern  is,  however,  with  the  second  church  at 
Amsterdam.  Pastor  Smyth  here  became  acquainted,  pos- 
sibly for  the  first  time,  with  the  theology  of  Arminius,  and 
here,  it  is  also  reasonable  to  suppose,  he  learned  the  Men- 
nonite  theory  of  the  nature  of  the  church.  If  he  had  had 
doubts  before  concerning  infant  baptism  they  were  now 
confirmed  into  conviction  that  it  is  not  warranted  by  the 
Scriptures,  and  that  a  scriptural  church  should  consist 
of  the  regenerate  only,  who  have  been  baptized  on  a 
personal  confession  of  faith.  He  gave  utterance  to 
these  views  in  a  tract  called  "  The  Character  of  the 
Ceast "  (1609).  Before  this  (1608)  differences  had 
arisen  over  a  question  of  comparatively  slight  importance 
between  the  two  English  churches,  and  the  result  had 
been  an  interruption  of  their  communion.  Now  a  still 
more  important  step  was  taken :  Smyth,  Thomas  Helwys, 
and  thirty-six  others  formed  the  first  church  composed 
of  Englishmen  that  is  known  to  have  stood  for  the 
baptism  of  believers  only. 

Smyth  is  generally  called  the  "  Se-Baptist,"  which 
means  that  he  baptized  himself.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  such  was  the  case,  since  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
fact  still  exists  in  his  own  handwriting.  In  this  respect 
he  resembled  Roger  Williams.  He  held  that  the  real 
apostolic  succession  is  a  succession  not  of  outward  ordi- 
nances and  visible  organizations,  but  of  true  faith  and 
practice.     He  therefore  believed  that  the  ancient,  true 


204  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

apostolic  succession  had  been  lost,  and  that  the  only  way 
to  recover  it  was  to  begin  a  church  anew  on  the  apostolic 
model.  Accordingly,  having  first  baptized  himself,  he 
baptized  Helwys  and  the  rest,  and  so  constituted  the 
church.  They  soon  after  issued  a  Confession  of  Faith, 
Arminian  in  its  theology,  but  distinct  in  its  claims  that 
a  church  should  be  composed  only  of  baptized  believers, 
and  that  only  such  should  "  taste  of  the  Lord's  Supper." 

It  is  also  certain  that  the  baptism  of  Smyth  and  his 
followers  was  an  affusion,  for  in  a  few  months  he  became 
dissatisfied  with  what  he  had  done,  confessed  that  his 
Anabaptism  was  an  error,  and  applied  with  some  others 
for  admission  into  a  Mennonite  church.  A  committee 
of  Mennonite  ministers  was  appointed  to  examine  into 
the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  applicants,  and  in  their 
report  they  said :  "  We  .  .  .  also  inquired  for  the 
foundation  and  form'  of  their  baptism,  and  we  have  not 
found  that  there  was  any  difference  at  all,  neither  in  the 
one  nor  the  other  thing."  Several  Confessions — at  least 
four  in  all — were  issued  by  Smyth  and  this  church,  in 
which  baptism  is  defined  as  "  the  external  sign  of  the 
remission  of  sins,  of  dying  and  being  made  alive,"  as 
"  washing  with  water,"  as  "  to  be  ministered  only  upon 
penitent  and  faithful  persons,"  and  the  like;  but  nothing 
is  said  in  any  of  them  of  immersion  as  the  form  of 
baptism. 

Smyth  died  in  1612,  but  before  that  the  church  he  had 
been  instrumental  in  founding,  now  reduced  to  some  ten 
members,  had  disappeared  from  Holland.  Persecution 
seems  to  have  been  less  severe  in  England,  and  Thomas 

1  Some  have  been  inclined  (so  Newman,  "  History  of  Anti-pedobaptism," 
p.  387)  to  understand  "  form  of  their  baptism  "  not  to  refer  "  to  the  mode 
of  applying  the  water,"  but  "  rather  to  the  words  spoken  in  connection 
with  the  administration  of  the  ordinance."  But  this  is  directly  contravened 
by  the  authority  of  John  Smyth  himself.  In  his  "  Character  of  the  Beast  " 
(p.  54)  he  clearly  makes  the  distinction  between  the  matter  of  baptism,  a 
believing  subject,  and  the  form  of  baptism,  a  washing  with  water. 


THE   EARLY   DAYS  205 

Helwys,  John  Murton,  and  others  returned  to  London, 
probably  some  time  in  i6ii,  and  founded  the  first  Ana- 
baptist church  composed  of  EngUshmen  known  to  have 
existed  on  Enghsh  soil.  This  church  was  also  Arminian 
in  theology,  and  churches  of  this  type  came  later  to  be 
called  General  Baptists,  because  they  held  to  a  general 
atonement  for  all  men,  while  orthodox  Calvinists  then 
held  to  a  "  particular "  atonement,  for  the  elect  only. 
By  the  year  1626  there  were  five  such  churches  in  Eng- 
land, though  all  were  small,  and  in  the  aggregate  con- 
tained about  one  hundred  and  fifty  members.  In  1644 
they  had  increased  to  forty-seven  churches,  according  to 
their  opponents ;  possibly  there  were  more.  Once  they 
had  a  fair  opportunity  to  preach  New  Testament  truth 
among  their  countrymen,  these  churches  throve  rapidly  in 
England. 

The  fact  must  not  be  overlooked,  however,  that  ten 
Baptist  churches  in  England  claim  an  earlier  origin  than 
this  whose  story  has  thus  been  told.  Hill  Cliff  (1522), 
Eythorne,  Coggeshall,  Braintree  (1550),  Farringdon 
Road  (1576),  Crowle,  Epworth  (1599),  Bridgewater, 
Oxford,  Wedmore  (1600).  To  substantiate  these  claims 
there  is  little  evidence  but  tradition,  of  no  great  antiquity. 
Thomas  Crosby,  the  earliest  of  our  Baptist  historians, 
who  sought  with  praiseworthy  diligence  for  all  accessible 
facts,  and  was  personally  familiar  with  some  of  these 
localities,  had  either  never  heard  such  traditions  or  did 
not  consider  them  even  worthy  of  mention.  In  no  case 
is  there  the  smallest  scrap  of  documentary  evidence  for 
such  antiquity  as  is  claimed.  No  title-deeds  or  records 
extend  back  much  over  two  hundred  years,  few  extend 
so  far  back.  There  is  some  archaeological  evidence,  in 
one  or  two  cases,  to  prove  that  a  certain  site  was  used 
for  religious  services  or  as  a  burial-place,  long  before 
the   beginning   of   the    seventeenth   century.      The    gap 


206  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

between  these  slender  premises  of  fact  and  the  conclusion 
sought  to  be  drawn  from  them  is  so  wide  that  only  the 
most  robust  faith  could  span  it.  One  who  is  capable  of 
believing  in  the  great  antiquity  of  English  Baptist 
churches  on  evidence  so  slender  is  quite  capable  of  be- 
lieving on  no  evidence  at  all — which  is  the  quickest  and 
safest  way.     Let  us  return,  then,  to  the  history. 

The  Calvinistic  or  Particular  Baptists  had  a  quite  dif- 
ferent origin.  The  account  of  that  origin  given  by  Bap- 
tist historians  generally,  including  the  former  editions  of 
this  work,  rests  on  the  authority  of  Thomas  Crosby,  the 
earliest  historian  of  the  Baptists.  The  documents  on 
which  Crosby  depended  have  been  made  accessible,  and 
show  that  he  did  not  accurately  follow  his  sources.  As- 
suming the  credibility  of  the  documents — the  question  can- 
not be  discussed  here — the  essential  facts  are  as  follows : 

A  congregation  of  Separatists,  or  Dissenters  from  the 
Church  of  England,  was  gathered  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
Jacob  in  London,  in  1616.  After  some  years  Jacob  went 
to  Virginia  and  John  Lathrop  became  the  pastor.  Many 
were  added  to  them,  and  discussions  rose  whether  the 
parish  churches  could  be  regarded  as  true  churches.  In 
1633  there  was  a  peaceable  division  on  this  issue,  and  a 
new  church  of  seventeen  persons  was  formed.  This  new 
church  was  evidently  what  we  should  now  call  a  church 
of  mixed  membership ;  some  of  its  members  were  cer- 
tainly of  Anabaptist  views,  for  the  record  adds :  "  Mr. 
Eaton,  with  some  others  [but  not  all],  receiving  a  fur- 
ther baptism."  Mr.  John  Spilsbury  soon  became  pastor 
of  this  flock,  which  in  1638  received  another  secession  of 
six  members  from  the  Jacob  church,  this  composed  wholly 
of  Anabaptists.  Not  long  after,  this  church  seems  to 
have  wholly  adopted  Baptist  principles  and  practices,  and 
is  therefore  entitled  to  be  called  the  first  Particular  Baptist 
church  in  England. 


Page  206 


William    K.iiiln 


THE  EARLY  DAYS  207 

Returning  now  to  the  original  church  of  Jacob  and 
Lathrop,  we  find  that  Mr.  Lathrop  also  emigrated  to 
New  England,  leaving  the  flock  again  without  a  shep- 
herd.    The  records  of  the  church  then  go  on  to  say : 

1640.  3rd  Mo :  The  Church  became  two  by  mutuall  consent 
just  half  being  with  Mr.  P.  Barebone,  &  ye  other  halfe  with  Mr. 
H.  Jessey.  Mr.  Richd  Blunt  wth  him  being  convinced  of  Bap- 
tism yt  also  it  ought  to  be  by  dipping  in  ye  Body  into  ye 
Water,  resembling  Burial  and  riseing  again  Col.  2.  12,  Rom.  6,  4 
had  sober  Conferance  about  in  ye  Church,  &  then  wth  some  of 
the  forenamed  who  also  were  so  convinced ;  and  after  Prayer  & 
Conferance  about  their  so  enjoying  it,  none  having  then  so 
practiced  it  in  England  to  professed  Believers,  &  hearing  that 
some  in  and  ye  Nether  Lands  had  so  practiced,  they  agreed  and 
sent  over  Mr.  Rich'd  Blunt  (who  understood  Dutch)  with  Let- 
ters of  Commendation,  and  who  was  kindly  accepted  there,  and 
Returned  wth  Letters  from  them  Jo :  Batten  a  teacher  there, 
and  from  that  Church  to  such  as  sent  him. 

1641.  They  proceed  on  therein,  viz  Those  Persons  yt 
ware  perswaded  Baptism  should  be  by  dipping  ye  Body  had  mett 
in  two  Companies,  and  did  intend  so  to  meet  after  this,  all  those 
Agreed  to  proceed  alike  togeather:  and  then  manifesting  (not 
by  any  formal  Words)  a  Covenant  (wch  Word  was  Scrupled  by 
some  of  them)  but  by  mutuall  desires  and  agreement  each  Testi- 
fied :  Those  two  Companyes  did  set  apart  one  to  Baptize  the 
rest:   so  it  was   Solemnly  performed  by  them. 

Mr.  Blunt  baptized  Mr.  Blacklock  yt  was  a  Teacher  amongst 
them,  and  Mr.  Bkmt  being  baptized,  he  and  Mr.  Blacklock  Bap- 
tized ye  rest  of  their  friends  yt  ware  so  minded,  and  many  being 
added  to  them  they  increased  much. 

Another  method  of  reviving  immersion  was  taken  by 
the  Baptists  of  this  period,  as  their  writings  bear  witness. 
Thomas  Crosby  has  stated  it  very  accurately  in  these 
words : 

But  the  greatest  number  of  the  English  Baptists,  and  the 
more  judicious,  looked  upon  all  this  [Blunt's  mission  to  Holland] 
as   needless  trouble,   and   what  proceeded   from   the   old  popish 


2o8  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

doctrine  of  right  to  administer  the  sacraments  by  an  uninter- 
rupted succession,  which  neither  the  Church  of  Rome  nor  the 
Church  of  England,  much  less  the  modern  dissenters,  could  prove 
to  be  with  them.  They  affirmed,  therefore,  and  practised  ac- 
cordingly, that  after  a  general  corruption  of  baptism,  an  unbap- 
tized  person  might  warrantably  baptize,  and  so  begin  a 
reformation  (i  :  103). 

This  was  apparently  the  method  adopted  by  the  Spils- 
biiry  chtirch,  for  its  pastor  strongly  argued  against  the 
theory  of  succession,  and  upheld  the  right  of  a  church 
of  Christ  by  its  own  act  to  recover  lost  ordinances. 
"  Where  there  is  a  beginning,"  he  pithily  says,  "  some 
must  be  first." 

In  these  two  ways  the  practice  of  immersing  believers 
in  Christ  was  introduced  among  those  churches  that  a 
few  years  later  came  to  be  known  as  Particular  Baptists. 
We  have  no  such  definite  account  of  the  introduction  of 
immersion  among  the  Arminian  churches,  but  we  have 
no  sufficient  grounds  for  supposing  that  they  anticipated 
their  Calvinistic  brethren.  The  only  thing  that  points  in 
that  direction  is  a  passage  in  "  Religion's  Peace,"  a  book 
written  by  Leonard  Busher  in  1614.  Busher  may  have 
been  at  one  time  connected  with  the  Helwys  congrega- 
tion at  Amsterdam,  and  his  book  bears  internal  evidence 
of  having  been  written  and  published  there,  but  we  can- 
not connect  him  more  closely  than  this  with  the  Baptists 
in  England.  In  his  book  he  says:  "And  such  as  shall 
willingly  and  gladly  receive  it  [the  gospel]  he  hath  com- 
manded to  be  baptized  in  the  water;  that  is,  dipped  for 
dead  in  the  water."  It  is  not  a  perfectly  safe  inference, 
however,  from  this  teaching  that  there  was  a  correspond- 
ing practice.  That  sort  of  logic  would  prove  that  both 
Luther  and  Calvin  were  immersionists,  and  lead  us  into 
all  sorts  of  absurdities  if  it  were  consistently  applied 
throughout    the    history    of    the    church.      Nothing    is 


THE  EARLY  DAYS  209 

commoner  than  to  find  lack  of  correspondence  between 
teaching  and  practice. 

The  churches  afterwards  known  as  General  Baptists 
had  from  the  first  maintained  close  relations  with  the 
Mennonite  churches  of  Holland.  Their  members,  on 
going  to  Holland,  were  received  without  question  into 
the  Mennonite  churches.  Certain  of  their  church  dis- 
putes were  referred  to  the  Mennonite  churches  for  arbi- 
tration. These  facts  indicate  that  they  were  agreed  on 
the  practice  of  baptism,  which  we  know  to  have  been 
aspersion  among  the  Mennonites.  But  from  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  or  a  little  before,  all  traces 
of  this  union  cease.  The  only  reasonable  explanation 
of  the  facts  is  that  given  by  Mennonite  writers,  namely, 
the  adoption  of  immersion  by  the  English  churches, 
which  thus  practically  pronounced  their  Aiennonite 
brethren  unbaptized. 

For  many  years  we  find  that  the  question  of  baptism 
was  still  debated  among  these  English  churches.  Some, 
who  agreed  with  their  brethren  in  all  other  things,  had 
not  yet  adopted  the  practice  of  immersion  and  were 
called  the  Old  Men,  or  Aspersi ;  while  the  others  were 
called  the  New  Men,  or  Immersi,  "  because  they  were 
overwhelmed  in  their  rebaptization."  ^  So  late  as 
1653  we  find  the  same  difference  of  opinion  still 
persisting.  A  Baptist  writer  of  that  date  complains 
of  what  he  calls  a  "  mere  demi-reformation  that 
is  made  on  this  point  on  a  party  of  men  in  Lincolnshire 
and  elsewhere  (of  whom  I  suppose  there  are  several  con- 
gregations), who  having  long  since  discovered  the  true 
way  of  baptism  as  to  the  subjects,  namely:  That  pro- 
fessing believers  only,  and  not  any  infants,  are  to  be  bap- 
tized, but  remaining  ignorant  of  the  true  way  and  form 
of    administering    the    ordinance,    are    fallen    into    the 

1  B.  Rynes,  "Mercuritis  R:isticus."     London,   1646,  p.  21. 
O 


2IO  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

frivolous  way  of  sprinkling  believers ;  which  to  do  is  as 
much  no  baptism  at  all,  as  to  dip  infants  is  no  baptism 
of  Christ's  ordaining.  Which  people,  for  whose  sakes,  as 
well  as  for  others,  I  write  this,  will  be  persuaded,  I  hope, 
in  time,  to  be  as  to  the  outward  form,  not  almost  only, 
but  altogether  Christians,  and  rest  no  longer  in  that  mere 
midway,  mongrel  reformation."  ^  This  is  the  last  known 
case  of  the  kind,  and  from  about  this  time  it  is  certain 
that  all  the  Anabaptist  churches  of  England  adopted 
immersion,  and  are  thenceforth  properly  called  Baptists. 
A  great  mass  of  pamphlets  and  books  relating  to  bap- 
tism began  to  pour  from  the  presses  of  England  from 
1640  onward.  This  revival  of  the  practice  of  immersion 
by  the  Baptist  churches  is  the  only  and  also  the  sufficient 
explanation  of  this  phenomenon.  The  controversy  thus 
precipitated  also  accounts  for  the  importance  thenceforth 
assumed  by  the  question  of  baptism  in  Baptist  Confes- 
sions and  in  polemical  writings  by  the  Baptists  of  this 
period.  Others  had  before  this  practised  immersion,  be- 
ing convinced  that  it  is  taught  by  the  Scriptures,  without 
teaching  that  immersion  is  essential  to  valid  baptism. 
The  opposition  of  the  other  English  sects  to  the  novel 
practice  of  immersion  developed  the  Baptist  doctrine  rap- 
idly. The  other  Separatists  of  the  period  with  one  ac- 
cord attacked  immersion  as  new-fangled,  unnecessary, 
immodest,  dangerous  to  life,  and  the  like.  Baptists  re- 
torted by  asserting  that  nothing  else  than  immersion  could 
be  accepted  as  baptism.  When  the  Continental  Anabap- 
tists practised  immersion,  no  special  opposition  was  made 
to  their  practice,  and  they  were  therefore  never  impelled 
to  lay  any  special  emphasis  upon  its  necessity.  In  this 
one  difference  of  circumstance  is  the  full  explanation  of 
the  difference  of  doctrine  obtaining  between  the 
immersing  Anabaptists  and  the  modern  Baptists. 

1  "  Baby  Baptism  mere  Babyism,"  by  S.  Fisher.     London,  1653,  p.  464. 


THE   EARLY   DAYS  211 

By  the  year  1644  the  number  of  Particular  Baptist 
churches  had  increased  to  seven.  In  that  year  these 
seven  churches  united  in  issuing  a  Confession  of  Faith, 
composed  of  fifty  articles,  which  is  one  of  the  chief 
landmarks  of  Baptist  history. 

The  Confession,  besides  giving  a  brief  exposition  of 
gospel  truth  according  to  the  Calvinistic  theology,  pro- 
nounces baptism  "  an  ordinance  of  the  New  Testament 
given  by  Christ,  to  be  dispensed  upon  persons  professing 
faith,  or  that  are  made  disciples ;  who,  upon  profession  of 
faith,  ought  to  be  baptized,  and  afterward  to  partake  of 
the  Lord's  Supper."     It  then  specifies : 

That  the  way  and  manner  of  the  dispensing  this  ordinance 
is  dipping  or  phinging  the  body  under  water;  it  being  a  sign, 
must  answer  the  thing  signified,  which  is,  that  interest  the  saints 
have  in  the  death,  burial,  and  resurrection  of  Christ:  and  that 
as  certainly  as  the  body  is  buried  under  water  and  risen 
again,  so  certainly  shall  the  bodies  of  the  saints  be  raised  by 
the  power  of  Christ  in  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  to  reign  with 
Christ. 

And  a  note  to  this  section  adds :  "  The  word  baptiso 
signifies  to  dip  or  plunge  (yet  so  as  convenient  garments 
be  upon  both  the  administrator  and  subject,  with  all  mod- 
esty)." English  Baptists  were  accused  by  their  opponents 
of  baptizing  converts  in  a  state  of  nakedness,  and  doing 
other  scandalous  things,  hence  the  statement  in  paren- 
theses was  necessary,  and  the  165 1  edition  of  the  Con- 
fession adds  these  words :  "  Which  is  also  our  practice, 
as  many  eye-witnesses  can  testify." 

The  Confessions  issued  before  this  time  are  not  so 
explicit  in  defining  baptism  as  immersion,  but  they  are 
equally  plain  in  placing  baptism  before  participation  in 
the  Lord's  Supper.  One  of  the  fourfold  Confessions  is- 
sued by  the  Smyth-Helwys  church  in  Holland  says :  "  The 
Holy  Supper,  according  to  the  institution  of  Christ,  is  to 


212  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

be  administered  to  the  baptized."  Indeed,  in  the  whole 
history  of  Baptists  not  a  Confession  can  be  produced  that 
advocates  the  invitation  or  admission  to  the  Lord's  table 
of  the  unbaptized.  Nevertheless,  some  English  Baptist 
churches,  being  formed  of  Separatist  elements,  did  from 
the  first  claim  and  exercise  liberty  in  respect  to  this 
ordinance. 

The  Confession  of  1644  is  outspoken  also  in  the  advo- 
cacy of  religious  liberty  as  the  right,  and  of  good  citizen- 
ship as  the  duty,  of  every  Christian  man.  The  following 
article  is  worth  quoting  in  full,  as  the  first  publication 
of  the  doctrine  of  freedom  of  conscience,  in  an  official 
document  representing  a  body  of  associated  churches : 

XLVIII.  A  civil  magistracy  is  an  ordinance  of  God,  set  up 
by  him  for  the  punishment  of  evil-doers,  and  for  the  praise  of 
them  that  do  well;  and  that  in  all  lawful  things,  commanded  by 
them,  subjection  ought  to  be  given  by  us  in  the  Lord,  not  only 
for  the  wrath,  but  for  conscience'  sake;  and  that  we  are  to 
make  supplications  and  prayers  for  kings,  and  all  that  are  in 
authority,  that  under  them  we  may  live  a  quiet  and  peaceable 
life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty. 

The  supreme  magistracy  of  this  kingdom  we  acknowledge  to 
be  King  and  Parliament.  .  .  And  concerning  the  worship  of 
God,  there  is  but  one  lawgiver.  .  ,  which  is  Jesus  Christ.  .  . 
So  it  is  the  magistrate's  duty  to  tender  the  liberty  of  men's  con- 
sciences (Eccl.  8:  8),  (which  is  the  tenderest  thing  unto  all  con- 
scientious men,  and  most  dear  unto  them,  and  without  which 
all  other  liberties  will  not  be  worth  the  naming,  much  less  the 
enjoying),  and  to  protect  all  under  them  from  all  wrong,  injury, 
oppression,  and  molestation.  .  .  And  as  we  cannot  do  anything 
contrary  to  our  understandings  and  consciences,  so  neither  can 
we  forbear  the  doing  of  that  which  our  understandings  and  con- 
sciences bind  us  to  do.  And  if  the  magistrates  should  require 
us  to  do  otherwise,  we  are  to  yield  our  persons  in  a  passive 
way  to  their  power,  as  the  saints  of  old  have  done  (James 
5:4). 

This  is  a  great  landmark,  not  only  of  Baptists,  but  of 
the   progress   of   enlightened    Christianity.     Those   who 


THE  EARLY   DAYS  2I3 

published  to  the  world  this  teaching,  then  deemed  revo- 
lutionary and  dangerous,  held,  in  all  but  a  few  points  of 
small  importance,  precisely  those  views  of  Christian  truth 
that  are  held  by  Baptists  to-day.  For  substance  of  doc- 
trine, any  of  us  might  subscribe  to  it  without  a  moment's 
hesitation.  On  the  strength  of  this  one  fact,  Baptists 
might  fairly  claim  that,  whatever  might  have  been  said 
by  isolated  individuals  before,  they  were  the  pioneer  body 
among  modern  Christian  denominations  to  advocate  the 
right  of  all  men  to  worship  God,  each  according  to  the 
dictates  of  his  own  conscience,  without  let  or  hindrance 
from  any  earthly  power. 

Among  the  names  signed  to  this  Confession  are  two 
of  special  significance  in  this  early  period  of  Baptist 
progress  in  England — William  Kiffen  and  Hanserd 
Knollys.  Kiffen  was  born  in  London,  in  1616.  His  fam- 
ily was  of  Welsh  extraction.  He  lost  his  parents  by  the 
plague  that  scourged  London  in  1625,  and  was  taken 
care  of  by  relatives,  whom  he  charged  with  misappropri- 
ating his  patrimony.  They  apprenticed  him  to  "  a  very 
mean  calling"  (brewer),  and  in  his  fifteenth  year  he 
ran  away  from  his  master.  While  wandering  aimlessly 
about  town,  he  saw  people  going  into  church  and  went 
in  with  them.  The  sermon  on  the  fifth  commandment, 
and  the  duties  of  servants  to  masters,  caused  him  to 
return  to  his  master,  and  also  provoked  in  him  a  desire 
to  hear  other  Puritan  ministers.  Soon  he  was  convicted 
of  sin,  and  after  an  experience  not  unlike  that  which 
Bunyan  relates  in  his  "  Grace  Abounding,"  he  found 
peace  in  believing.  He  joined  himself  to  an  independent 
congregation  (probably  that  church  of  Henry  Jacob,  of 
which  so  much  has  already  been  said),  and  some  time 
afterwards  left  this  to  join  the  Baptist  church  of  which 
John  Spilsbury  had  become  pastor.  Not  long  thereafter 
he  became  pastor  of  a  newly  constituted  Baptist  church 


214  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

in  London.     This  was  certainly  prior  to  1644,  but  how 
long  we  do  not  know. 

About  the  same  time  that  he  became  a  Baptist  preacher, 
Kiffen  also  became  a  merchant.  His  first  venture  was 
in  a  trading  voyage  to  Holland,  in  1643,  ^^^^  two  years 
later  he  engaged  in  business  in  that  country  with  a 
young  man  of  his  congregation,  and  he  adds :  "  It  pleased 
God  so  to  bless  our  endeavors,  as  from  scores  of  pounds 
to  bring  it  to  many  hundreds  and  thousands  of  pounds." 
This  is  his  modest  way  of  saying  that  he  became  one 
of  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  merchants  of  Lon- 
don. He  himself  valued  his  success  mainly  because  it 
enabled  him  to  preach  the  gospel  with  less  hindrance, 
and  he  used  his  large  means  generously  to  propagate 
the  truth  as  he  understood  it.  To  his  shrewd  liberality 
the  Baptists  of  England  owed  much  of  their  progress 
during  the  seventeenth  century. 

Kififen's  wealth  exposed  him  to  many  persecutions, 
but  also,  it  is  likely,  obtained  for  him  many  favors  from 
those  in  power.  He  was  the  friend  of  kings  and  high 
officials,  and  though  he  doubtless  valued  such  favor,  he 
not  infrequently  found  it  costly.  It  is  related  that  on  one 
occasion  Charles  II.  requested  of  this  rich  subject  a 
"  loan  "  of  forty  thousand  pounds.  Kiffen's  ready  wit 
did  not  fail  him  in  this  emergency.  He  answered,  with 
all  respect,  that  he  could  not  possibly  lend  so  large  a 
sum,  but  he  hoped  his  Majesty  would  honor  him  by  ac- 
cepting a  gift  of  ten  thousand  pounds.  His  ]\Iajesty 
was  ever  ready  to  bestow  that  particular  form  of  honor 
on  anybody,  and  graciously  accepted  the  offer.  Kiffen 
used  to  relate  the  story  with  glee  in  after  years,  and 
declared  that  by  his  timely  liberality  he  had  saved  thirty 
thousand  pounds.  Full  of  years  and  labors  and  honors, 
Kififen  died  in  1701. 

Hanserd  Knollys,  one  of  the  most  godly,  learned,  and 


THE   EARLY   DAYS  215 

laborious  among  the  English  Baptists  of  this  time,  was 
born  at  Chalkwell,  Lincolnshire.  His  parents  were  re- 
ligious people,  as  well  as  possessed  of  some  wealth.  He 
was  prepared  by  a  private  tutor  and  then  sent  to  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  where  he  took  his  degree  in 
due  course.  Having  had  a  religious  training  from  boy- 
hood, he  was  in  a  condition  of  mind  and  heart  to  be 
impressed  by  sermons  that  he  heard  while  a  student,  and 
he  was  converted.  His  piety  while  at  the  university 
was  marked,  and  in  his  after  years  this  early  promise 
was  quite  fulfilled. 

After  graduation,  he  was  master  of  a  school  at  Gains- 
borough for  a  while ;  but  in  June,  1629,  he  was  ordained 
by  the  bishop  of  Peterborough,  first  deacon,  then  pres- 
byter, of  the  Church  of  England.  Not  long  after,  the 
bishop  of  Lincoln  presented  him  to  the  living  of  Hum- 
berstone,  where  he  engaged  most  zealously  in  the  work 
of  a  parish  minister.  He  ordinarily  preached  four  times 
on  Sunday,  and  besides  preached  on  every  holiday.  Both 
his  training  and  natural  inclinations  inclined  him  toward 
the  Puritan  party  in  the  church,  and  after  some  three 
years  of  service,  his  conscientious  scruples  regarding  the 
wearing  of  the  surplice,  the  sign  of  the  cross  in  baptism, 
admitting  to  the  Lord's  Supper  persons  of  notoriously 
wicked  lives,  and  the  like,  made  his  position  untenable. 
He  had  only  to  stifle  his  convictions,  to  compound  with 
his  conscience,  to  retain  his  place  of  honor  and  comfort 
in  the  church,  with  fair  prospects  of  promotion.  But 
he  could  not  do  this,  and  he  manfully  resigned  his  living 
to  his  bishop,  frankly  stating  his  reasons ;  and  so  much 
was  he  respected  for  his  honesty,  that  the  bishop  con- 
nived at  his  continuing  to  preach  in  the  diocese,  without 
wearing  the  surplice  or  reading  the  service,  though  such 
procedure  was  strictly  forbidden  by  law. 

This  was  a  position  impossible  to  maintain  long;  a 


2l6  A   SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

man  who  did  this  was  neither  one  thing  nor  another. 
Accordingly,  about  1636,  Knollys  joined  himself  to  the 
Separatists,  as  those  Puritans  were  called  who  had  been 
compelled  by  conscience  to  come  out  of  the  Church  of 
England.  This  exposed  him  to  active  persecution,  and 
he  determined  to  emigrate  to  New  England,  where  he 
understood  that  the  Separatists  had  liberty.  He  landed 
in  Boston,  in  1638,  after  a  voyage  of  much  hardship. 
It  is  related  of  him,  as  showing  how  low  his  fortunes 
had  ebbed,  that  by  the  time  he  had  embarked  on  ship- 
board he  had  but  six  brass  farthings  left;  but  his  wife 
produced  five  pounds  that  she  had  saved  in  happier  days, 
and  they  were  enabled  to  reach  the  new  land. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  he  had  an  opportunity  to  go  to 
the  new  settlement  of  Piscataway  (afterward  called  Do- 
ver), in  New  Hampshire,  which  needed  a  pastor.  We 
have  testimony  to  show  that  while  here  he  opposed  the 
baptism  of  infants,  and  probably  for  this  reason  Cotton 
Mather  classes  him  among  the  Anabaptists.  Mather, 
however,  bears  testimony  to  the  excellent  character  of 
Knollys. 

In  1 64 1,  Knollys  was  summoned  home  to  England  by 
his  aged  father,  and  he  was  so  little  of  a  Baptist  as  yet 
that  he  became  a  member  of  the  Separatist  congregation, 
of  which  at  that  time  Henry  Jessey  was  pastor.  The 
records  of  that  church  inform  us  that  in  1643  Knollys 
was  unwilling  to  have  his  infant  child  baptized,  which 
led  to  conferences  on  the  subject  and  finally  to  a  division, 
sixteen  members  withdrawing  and  forming  a  Baptist 
church.  Whether  it  was  this  church  or  another  that  he 
gathered  is  uncertain,  but  in  1645  he  was  formally  or- 
dained pastor  of  a  Baptist  church  in  London,  and  from 
that  time  was  known  as  one  of  the  efficient  leaders  of 
this  people. 

The  Episcopal  hierarchy  had  been  abolished,  and  "  lib- 


Tlu.  trtL&  and  Litre  If  Elates  oJ^/yS/C- 
'BAN:K'^OLlAS9firAj'hrofJ  Go£jz.lC^ 
J^^&£  6)7  .ye.  arts . 


Page  216 


THE   EARLY   DAYS  217, 

erty  of  prophesying  "  was  now  supposed  to  be  enjoyed 
by  all  godly  ministers.  But  the  Presbyterians  were  de- 
termined on  the  ruins  of  the  Church  of  England  to 
erect  an  establishment  of  their  own,  and  to  silence  all 
who  did  not  agree  with  them.  For  a  time  KnoUys 
preached  in  the  parish  churches,  but  was  summoned  to 
give  account  of  himself  before  a  committee  of  divines 
at  Westminster.  They  forbade  him  to  preach,  but  he 
only  ceased  to  preach  in  the  parish  churches,  gathering 
a  congregation  in  a  house  of  his  own  at  Great  St.  Helen's, 
London.  This  was  a  sample  of  the  "  liberty  "  experi- 
enced by  our  Baptist  forefathers  under  the  dominion  of 
the  Presbyterians  and  the  Long  Parliament. 

After  the  Restoration,  KnoUys  suffered  long-continued 
hardships  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel.  His  popularity  as 
a  preacher  was  so  great,  and  his  influence  so  generally 
acknowledged  by  Nonconformists,  that  to  silence  him 
was  a  special  object  of  the  upholders  of  the  Church  of 
England  and  the  Act  of  Uniformity.  He  was  imprisoned 
many  times;  even  in  his  eighty-fourth  year  he  was  in 
jail  for  six  months,  an  act  of  revenge  on  the  part  of 
James  H.  because  Knollys  refused  to  use  his  influence 
with  Baptists  and  other  Dissenters  to  gain  their  approval 
for  the  illegal  dispensations  issued  by  that  monarch.  To 
escape  these  persecutions,  Knollys  and  his  family  were 
obliged  to  change  their  residence  often,  and  once  he  left 
England  and  spent  some  time  in  Holland  and  Germany. 

After  a  short  illness,  Knollys  died  in  his  ninety-third 
year,  having  given  an  example  of  constancy  to  his  con- 
victions that  is  worthy  of  all  admiration.  A  Puritan 
to  the  core,  somewhat  narrow  and  stern  according  to  our 
notions  to-day,  he  was  yet  a  very  lovable  man,  and  com- 
pelled the  respect  of  even  those  who  most  widely  differed 
from  him  in  matters  of  faith  and  practice. 

Both  William  Kiffcn  and  Hanserd  Knollys  are  known 


2l8  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

to  have  been  buried  in  Bunhill  Fields,  London,  where 
also  the  mortal  remains  of  John  Bunyan  rest.  Bunyan's 
tomb  is  still  pointed  out  to  the  curious  visitor,  but  all 
trace  of  the  others  has  disappeared.  A  stone  once  marked 
the  grave  of  Kififen,  and  its  inscription  has  been  preserved 
by  a  diligent  local  historian,  and  that  is  now  his  sole 
memorial. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  LIBERTY 

THE  contest  between  Charles  I.  and  his  people  had 
come  to  an  acute  crisis  before  the  Confession  of 
1644  was  printed.  He  had  showed,  under  the  tutelage 
of  Laud  in  the  Church,  the  same  imperious  temper  and 
the  same  persecuting  spirit  that  he  showed  under  Straf- 
ford's counsel  in  the  State.  It  was  all  one  to  him 
whether  Hampden  refused  to  pay  ship-money,  or  the  ob- 
stinate Scots  refused  to  accept  his  liturgy.  Baptists  fared 
hard  during  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign,  but  from  the 
meeting  of  the  Long  Parliament,  in  November,  1640, 
they  had  peace,  and  increased  rapidly  in  numbers.  Al- 
most to  a  man  they  were  supporters  of  the  Parliamentary 
cause,  which  was  the  cause  of  liberty,  religious  as  well 
as  civil.  Large  numbers  of  Baptists  took  service  in  the 
armies  of  Parliament,  some  of  whom  rose  to  a  high 
rank,  and  were  much  trusted  by  the  Lord  Protector, 
Cromwell. 

The  period  of  the  civil  war  was  thus  one  of  com- 
parative immunity  for  those  who  had  been  persecuted, 
yet  the  toleration  practically  enjoyed  by  the  Baptists  was 
not  a  legal  status;  they  still  had  no  civil  rights  that 
their  stronger  neighbors  were  bound  to  respect;  and  it 
was  only  the  dire  necessity  of  uniting  all  forces  against 
the  king  that  led  the  Presbyterian  Parliament  to  refrain 
from  active  measures  of  repression.  The  leading  West- 
minster divines  rebuked  Parliament  in  sermons  and 
pamphlets  for  suffering  the  Baptists  to  increase,  but  po- 
litical considerations   were   for   a   time   paramount.     A 

219 


220  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

single  incident  illustrates  the  Presbyterian  idea  of  lib- 
erty of  conscience  at  this  time.  In  1646,  one  Morgan,  a 
Roman  Catholic,  unable  to  obtain  priests'  orders  in  Eng- 
land, went  to  Rome  for  them,  and  on  his  return,  was 
hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered,  for  this  heinous  oflfense. 
The  unspeakable  papist  could  not  be  tolerated  on  any 
terms  by  the  Presbyterian  party. 

Against  a  general  toleration  the  Presbyterians  pro- 
tested vigorously.  Thomas  Edwards  declared  that 
"  Could  the  devil  effect  a  toleration,  he  would  think  he 
had  gained  well  by  the  Reformation,  and  made  a  good 
exchange  of  the  hierarchy  to  have  a  toleration  for  it." 
Even  the  saintly  Baxter  said :  "  I  abhor  unlimited  lib- 
erty and  toleration  of  all,  and  think  myself  easily  able 
to  prove  the  wickedness  of  it."  Well  might  Milton,  in- 
censed by  such  teachings  and  by  attempts  in  Parliament 
to  give  them  effect,  break  forth  in  his  memorable  pro- 
test, moved  by  a  righteous  indignation  that  could  not 
find  expression  in  honeyed  words  or  courteous  phrases : 

Dare  ye  for  this  adjure  the  civil  sword 

To  force  our  consciences,   that   Christ  set  free, 

And  ride  us  with  a  classic  hierarchy? 

And  with  bitter  truth  he  added: 

New  Presbyter  is  but  old  Priest  writ  large. 

Not  in  vain  was  his  subsequent  appeal  to  Cromwell 
for  protection  from  these  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  who 
had  broken  down  one  tyranny  only  to  erect  on  its  base 
another  more  odious : 

Peace  hath  her  victories 
No  less  renowned  than  war ;  new  foes  arise, 
Threat'ning  to  bind  our  souls  with  secular  chains ; 
Help  us  to  save  free  conscience  from  the  paw 
Of  hirehng  wolves,  whose  gospel  is  their  maw. 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIBERTY  221 

Nothing  but  the  overthrow  of  the  Long  Parhament, 
and  with  it  the  Presbyterian  domination,  prevented  a 
more  tyrannous  and  implacable  persecution  than  any 
that  disgraces  the  fair  page  of  England's  annals.  One 
of  the  last  acts  of  the  Presbyterian  party  was  to  pass  a 
law  (1648)  making  death  the  penalty  for  eight  errors  in 
doctrine,  including  the  denial  of  the  Trinity,  and  pre- 
scribing indefinite  imprisonment  for  sixteen  other  errors, 
one  of  which  was  the  denial  of  infant  baptism. 

Fortunately  for  the  Baptists,  the  furious  extremists 
among  the  Presbyterians  were  never  able  to  do  more 
than  occasionally  annoy  those  whom  they  so  cordially 
detested.  It  is  related  of  William  Kiffen  that  on  July 
12,  1655,  he  was  brought  before  the  Lord  Mayor,  charged 
with  violation  of  the  statute  against  blasphemies  and 
heresies,  in  that  he  had  preached  "  that  the  baptism  of 
infants  was  unlawful."  The  accused  merchant-preacher 
was  treated  with  great  consideration  by  the  mayor,  who, 
on  the  plea  of  being  very  busy,  deferred  further  con- 
sideration of  the  case.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate 
that  Mr.  Kiffen  ever  heard  more  about  the  matter. 
Others,  less  powerful,  were  by  no  means  so  fortunate. 

But  the  excesses  of  the  Presbyterian  party  hastened  its 
downfall.  The  real  power  in  the  State  was  the  army, 
composed  mainly  of  Independents,  but  containing  many 
Baptists.  As  the  revolution  proceeded,  it  inevitably  be- 
came a  military  despotism,  the  head  of  the  army  ex- 
ercising the  civil  authority  more  or  less  under  forms  of 
law. 

During  the  Protectorate  a  fair  measure  of  religious 
liberty  prevailed.  Cromwell  himself  came  nearer  than 
any  public  man  of  his  time  to  adopting  the  Baptist  doc- 
trine of  equal  liberty  of  conscience  for  all  men.  He 
came,  at  least,  to  hold  that  a  toleration  of  all  religious 
views — such  as   existed   among  Protestants,   that   is   to 


222  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

say — was  both  right  and  expedient;  though  he  seems  to 
have  had  no  insuperable  objections  to  a  Presbyterian  or 
Independent  Church,  estabHshed  by  law  and  maintained 
by  the  State.  He  was  compelled  to  maintain  a  State  re- 
ligion, but  he  maintained  it  in  the  interest  of  no  one  sect. 
He  admitted  all  whom  we  now  call  evangelical  Christians 
to  an  equal  footing  in  religious  privileges,  appointing  a 
committee  of  Triers,  of  dififerent  sects,  to  examine  the 
qualifications  of  incumbents  and  candidates.  The  only 
standard  these  Triers  were  permitted  to  set  up  was  god- 
liness and  ability  to  edify;  no  minister  was  to  be  either 
appointed  or  excluded  for  his  views  of  doctrine  or  polity. 
Several  Baptists  served  as  Triers,  and  many  others  re- 
ceived benefices  during  this  time — a  very  inconsistent 
course  for  Baptists  to  take,  and  one  that  it  is  not  easy 
to  pardon,  for  they  sinned  against  light. 

From  time  to  time  Baptists  were  accused  of  sedition, 
and  various  pretexts  were  found  to  justify  their  per- 
secution ;  but  Cromwell  could  never  be  induced  to  move 
against  them.  It  has  been  reserved  for  writers  of  our 
own  day  to  press  these  stale  slanders  against  a  loyal  and 
upright  people.  By  such  it  has  been  urged,  with  in- 
sistence and  bitterness,  that  the  Baptists  were  not  sincere 
in  their  professions  of  zealous  devotion  to  the  principle 
of  liberty  of  conscience  for  all;  or,  at  least,  that  the 
declarations  already  quoted  from  their  Confessions  and 
from  their  published  writings  did  not  represent  the  Bap- 
tists as  a  whole — that  there  were  Baptists  as  intolerant 
and  as  desirous  of  persecuting  their  opponents  as  the 
most  zealous  Presbyterian  of  them  all. 

The  events  of  1653  are  said  to  furnish  full  confirma- 
tion of  this  view  of  the  case.  In  that  year  the  "  Rump  " 
Parliament  was  dissolved,  and  Cromwell  was  proclaimed 
Lord  Protector,  according  to  the  provisions  of  an  In- 
strument of  Government  framed  by  a  convention  he  had 


Oliver  Ckomwell 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIBERTY  223 

called  for  the  purpose  of  devising  a  scheme  to  regulate 
the  affairs  of  the  nation.  It  would  seem  that  some  of 
the  Baptists  were  ardent  republicans,  and  in  these  pro- 
ceedings of  Cromwell  they  saw  only  the  workings  of  his 
ambition  to  be  king.  We  know  that  four  years  later 
certain  Baptists  protested  against  the  proposition  to  con- 
fer this  title  upon  him,  and  that  their  protest  had  weight. 
Some  of  them  protested  now ;  and  the  Rev.  Vavasor 
Powell  denounced  Cromwell  from  the  pulpit  at  a  meeting 
in  Blackfriars  of  certain  Fifth  Monarchy  men.  There 
were  fears  also  for  a  time  of  trouble  in  Ireland  from  the 
Baptists,  who  were  reported  to  be  extremely  disaffected 
with  the  new  government.  On  these  facts  a  charge  is 
based  that  a  part  of  the  Baptists,  at  least,  were  disposed 
toward  a  religious  movement  that  must  have  resulted  in 
persecution. 

The  simple  fact  is  that  the  Baptists,  as  a  body,  were 
loyal  to  the  Commonwealth  and  its  head  as  the  de  facto 
government  of  England ;  and  the  few  who  were  disaf- 
fected opposed  Cromwell  on  civil  grounds.  Among  these 
was  Gen.  Thomas  Harrison  (who,  however,  did  not  be- 
come a  Baptist  until  1657).  This  party  was  republi- 
can and  suspected  Cromwell  of  kingly  ambitions,  and 
hence  opposed  him.  Certain  of  these  men,  notably  Har- 
rison, also  believed  that  the  time  was  drawing  near  for 
the  Fifth  Monarchy.  These  were  enthusiasts,  misled  by 
the  study  of  prophecy — as  had  happened  in  the  former 
ages  of  the  church,  among  the  medieval  Anabaptists  and 
the  earlier  Montanists,  for  example — into  a  notion  that 
the  last  times  were  at  hand,  and  that  Christ  was  about 
to  set  up  an  earthly  kingdom  and  reign  with  his  saints 
a  thousand  years.  INIen's  laws  and  traditions  were  to 
be  altogether  swept  away,  and  the  world  was  to  be  ruled 
by  the  law  of  Christ.  This  would,  of  itself,  exclude  the 
idea  of  persecution  when  once  this  kingdom  should  have 


224  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

been  established ;  and  before  its  establishment  persecution 
would  not  have  been  possible.  It  is  not  true  that  the 
Fifth  Monarchy  men,  as  a  body,  believed  in  setting  up 
this  kingdom  by  the  sword,  as  their  public  declarations 
clearly  show.  To  prove  that  a  Baptist  was  concerned 
in  these  Fifth  Monarchy  demonstrations  does  not  show 
that  he  cherished  any  idea  of  punishing  dissent  by  any 
form  of  persecution ;  still  less  does  it  show  that  his 
brethren  sympathized  with  any  persecuting  notions. 

But  we  have  abundant  testimony  that  the  great  body  of 
the  Baptists  had  no  sympathy  with  the  chiliastic  ideas 
that  lay  at  the  basis  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  movement ; 
that  they  utterly  condemned  all  conspiracies  against  the 
de  facto  government ;  and  that  they  exhorted  all  their 
brethren  to  follow  their  example  in  rendering  loyal 
obedience  to  the  powers  that  be.  An  extant  letter  from 
William  Kiffen  and  others  to  the  Baptists  in  Ireland 
gives  interesting  evidence  as  to  the  feeling  of  the  English 
Baptists.  The  writers  express  sorrow  that  "  there  is 
raised  up  in  many  amongst  you  (the  Baptists  in  Ireland) 
a  spirit  of  great  dissatisfaction  and  opposition  against 
this  present  authority,"  and  exhort  them  to  think  bet- 
ter of  their  determination  to  protest  publicly  against 
Cromwell.     They  say  : 

And  this  we  are  clearly  satisfied,  in  that  the  principles  held 
forth  by  those  meeting  in  Blackfriars,  under  pretense  of  the 
Fifth  Monarchy,  or  setting  up  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  to  which 
many  of  those  lately  in  power  adhered,  had  it  been  prosecuted, 
would  have  brought  as  great  dishonor  to  the  name  of  God,  and 
shame  and  contempt  to  the  whole  nation,  as  we  think  could  have 
been  imagined. 

The  letter  closes  with  a  solemn  appeal  in  these  words : 

We  do  therefore  beseech  you  for  the  Lord's  sake  and  for  the 
truth's  sake,  that  it  be  not  evil  spoken  of  men,  seriously  weigh 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIBERTY  225 

these  things ;  for  surely  if  the  Lord  gives  us  hearts  we  have  a 
large  advantage  put  into  our  hands  to  give  a  public  testimony 
in  the  face  of  the  world.  That  our  principles  are  not  such  as 
they  have  been  generally  judged  by  most  men  to  be;  which  is, 
that  we  deny  authority  and  would  pull  down  all  magistracy.  And 
if  any  trouble  should  arise,  either  with  you  or  us,  in  the  nation, 
which  might  proceed  to  the  shedding  of  blood,  would  not  it  all 
be  imputed  and  charged  upon  the  baptized  churches?  And  what 
grief  and  sorrow  would  be  administered  to  us,  your  brethren,  to 
hear  the  name  of  God  blasphemed  by  ungodly  men  through  your 
means?  This  we  can  say,  that  we  have  not  had  any  occasion 
of  sorrow  from  any  of  the  churches  in  this  nation  with  whom 
we  have  communion;  they,  with  one  heart,  desiring  to  bless 
God  for  their  liberty,  and  with  all  willingness  to  be  subject  to 
the  present  authority.  And  we  trust  to  hear  the  same  of  you, 
having  lately  received  an  epistle  written  to  us  by  all  the  churches 
amongst  you,  pressing  us  to  a  strict  walking  with  God,  and  warn- 
ing of  us  to  take  heed  of  formality,  the  love  of  this  world ;  that 
we  slight  not  our  mercy  in  the  present  liberties  we  enjoy. 

Whether  to  this  appeal  or  to  the  sober  second  thought 
is  to  be  attributed  the  subsequent  quiet  of  the  Irish  Bap- 
tists is  not  quite  certain,  but  a  letter  in  Thurloe's  "  State 
Papers  "  informs  us  that  there  was  no  further  trouble : 

As  to  your  grand  affairs  in  Ireland,  especially  as  to  the  Ana- 
baptist party,  I  am  confident  they  are  much  misconceived  in 
England.  Upon  the  change  of  affairs  here  was  discontent 
enough,  but  very  Httle  animosity.  For.  certainly  never  yet  any 
faction,  so  well  fortified  by  all  the  offices,  military  and  civil, 
almost  in  the  whole  nation,  did  quit  their  interest  with  more 
silence. 

The  Baptists  were  conscious  that  toleration  was  not 
likely  to  continue  long  unless  the  principle  were  incor- 
porated in  the  law  of  the  land.  They  continued  in  their 
writings  and  Confessions,  therefore,  to  urge  the  duty  of 
all  Christians  to  tolerate  those  who  differed  from  them 
in  religious  belief.  With  this  they  uniformly  coupled  a 
disclaimer  of  any  such  doctrine  of  liberty  as  implied 
p 


226  A   SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

license,  and  enforced  the  duty  of  the  Christian  to  render 
obedience  to  the  civil  magistrate  in  all  secular  affairs. 

In  the  year  1660  Charles  Stuart  was  brought  back  with 
great  rejoicing  to  the  throne  of  his  fathers.  The  Bap- 
tists must  have  seen  in  this  event  the  death  blow  to  their 
hopes  of  religious  liberty,  yet  it  does  not  appear  that 
they  raised  voice  or  hand  against  the  new  king,  though 
they  were  far  from  trusting  his  smooth  words  and  prom- 
ises of  toleration.  He  was  hardly  seated  on  his  throne 
when  one  Thomas  Venner  and  a  band  of  Fifth  Mon- 
archists and  other  irreconcilables  made  an  insurrection, 
whose  object  was  the  dethronement  of  the  new  monarch 
and  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth. 
The  slanders  of  the  time  accuse  the  Baptists  of  complicity 
in  this  disturbance.  Beyond  the  repetition  of  these  stale 
slanders  there  is  not  a  particle  of  evidence  producible 
that  any  Baptists  took  part  in  the  insurrection.  Con- 
clusive evidence  that  they  did  not  we  have  in  their  pro- 
test made  at  the  time,  and  in  the  verdict  of  every  candid 
Pedobaptist  historian  who  has  carefully  gone  over  the 
facts.  Venner  himself  was  a  Pedobaptist,  and  it  is  not 
known  that  a  single  Baptist  was  among  his  followers. 
Nevertheless,  persecution  on  account  of  alleged  disloyalty 
and  heresies  was  active  and  bitter. 

The  death  of  Thomas  Harrison  cannot,  however,  be 
called  a  case  of  persecution.  His  case  stands  by  itself. 
The  difference  between  a  patriot  and  a  rebel  has  been 
defined  somewhat  as  follows :  "  The  man  who  succeeds 
is  a  patriot;  the  man  who  fails  is  a  rebel."  If  George 
Washington  had  failed,  he  would  have  been  hanged  like 
Robert  Emmet,  and  schoolboys  would  now  be  reading 
books  in  which  his  treason  would  be  appropriately  con- 
demned. Thomas  Harrison  failed  at  last,  after  a  period 
of  complete  success,  and  he  went  to  his  grave  so  loaded 
down  with  ignominy  that  few  have  had  courage   since 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIBERTY  227 

to  plead  his  cause.  He  deserves  a  rehearing  in  the  court 
of  the  world's  justice. 

He  was  born  in  Cheshire,  and  his  father  was  a  butcher; 
hence,  as  Mrs.  Hutchinson  sneeringly  remarked  in  her 
"  Memoirs,"  he  was  "  a  mean  man's  son."  Nor  does 
Mistress  Lucy  fail  to  record  several  anecdotes,  illustrating 
his  love  of  display  and  fine  clothes,  as  a  foil  to  the  per- 
fections of  Colonel  Hutchinson.  Nevertheless,  when  the 
pinch  came,  Harrison,  the  "  mean  man's  son,"  played 
the  Christian  hero,  while  the  well-born  colonel  played  the 
coward  and  meanly  truckled  to  save  his  life — and 
succeeded,  but  lost  his  honor  forever. 

Little  is  known  of  Harrison's  early  life.  He  must  have 
had  a  fair  education,  and  became  clerk  to  a  solicitor. 
Early  in  the  struggle  between  Charles  L  and  his  Parlia- 
ment he  enlisted  in  the  parliamentary  army,  beginning 
as  cornet,  the  equivalent  of  a  second  lieutenant  of  cavalry. 
By  bravery  and  fidelity  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of 
captain,  and  having  attracted  the  notice  of  Cromwell,  was 
made  a  colonel  of  cavalry  after  the  remodeling  of  the 
army.  It  was  the  policy  thereafter  to  promote  officers 
who,  besides  military  capacity,  were  men  of  piety  and 
intelligence,  and  Harrison  rose  fast,  until  he  became 
major-general  and  ranked  next  to  Cromwell  himself  in 
the  respect  of  the  army.  By  various  means,  in  none  of 
which  do  his  enemies  charge  him  with  any  dishonor,  he 
acquired  a  considerable  estate,  and  lived  in  a  manner  be- 
coming the  second  man  in  England.  It  is  this  rapid  pro- 
motion and  access  of  power  that  doubtless  roused  the 
jealousy  of  the  Hutchinsons  and  that  explain  the  ref- 
erences to  Harrison  in  pious  Mrs.  Lucy's  "  Memoirs." 

When  the  war  was  over  and  Charles  I.  was  a  prisoner, 
the  question  rose  what  to  do  with  him.  The  army  was 
tired  of  fighting,  and  deman(Jed  summary  measures.  This 
demand  was  resisted  until  it  was  discovered  that  Charles 


228  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

was  plotting  for  further  uprisings  on  his  behalf,  and  then 
his  fate  was  sealed.  By  vote  of  Parliament,  a  high  court 
of  justice  was  appointed  to  try  the  king.  Harrison  was 
one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  court,  and 
his  name  was  signed  in  bold  characters  to  the  death  war- 
rant of  Charles  I.  The  verdict  of  history  is  that  while 
Charles  Stuart  richly  deserved  his  fate,  it  was  a  political 
blunder  thus  to  make  of  him  a  martyr ;  but  that  Harrison 
could  not  be  expected  to  see  at  the  time.  His  act  was 
that  of  patriot  who  did  what  he  believed  to  be  best  for 
his  country.  It  is  difficult  to  read  with  patience  what 
has  been  written  by  many  historians  concerning  the  death 
of  a  king  who  plunged  his  country  into  civil  war  because 
he  neither  could  nor  would  keep  his  word,  and  who 
deserved  forty  deaths  by  his  perfidy  and  cruelty. 

But  Harrison  had  no  mind  to  have  King  Noll  substi- 
tuted for  King  Charles ;  he  had  had  enough  of  kings, 
and  was  for  a  republic.  So  was  the  army.  Cromwell's 
doings  were  regarded  with  great  suspicion ;  his  title  of 
Lord  Protector  was  looked  upon  as  a  preliminary  to 
assuming  a  higher  title ;  his  government  was  more  arbi- 
trary and  despotic  than  that  of  the  Stuarts.  Harrison 
and  the  army  were  uneasy  and  became  estranged  from 
their  former  leader.  So  near  to  an  open  breach  did  they 
come  that  twice,  as  a  matter  of  precaution,  Cromwell  im- 
prisoned Harrison  for  a  time,  without  any  warrant  but 
his  sword,  with  no  accusation,  and  finally  released  him 
without  trial.  At  length  Cromwell  was  compelled  to  give 
a  definite  refusal  to  the  request,  doubtless  made  with  his 
own  connivance  and  at  his  desire,  that  he  would  assume 
the  title  and  state  of  king.  The  refusal  was  made  with 
many  sighs,  but  the  army  was  hopelessly  opposed,  and 
Harrison  in  this  matter  represented  the  army.  It  was 
due  to  his  firmness  that  the  house  of  Cromwell  did  not 
succeed  the  house  of  Stuart  on  the  throne  of  England. 


1 


Page  228 


General  Thomas  Hahrison 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIBERTY  229 

General  Harrison  and  his  wife  were  baptized  in  1657, 
in  the  dead  of  winter,  when  it  was  so  cold  that  the  ice 
had  to  be  broken  for  the  immersion.  This  was  but  three 
years  before  his  death,  and  he  was  never  so  identified 
with  Baptists  as  has  been  commonly  supposed,  though 
he  had  rather  inclined  toward  that  despised  body  of 
Christians  for  years  before  he  joined  them. 

After  the  restoration,  Harrison  well  knew  that  he 
could  expect  no  mercy.  The  regicides,  as  the  judges  of 
Charles  I.  were  called,  were  expressly  excepted  from 
all  proclamations  of  amnesty.  Nevertheless,  he  refused 
either  to  fly  or  to  truckle,  but  remained  quietly  at  home, 
calmly  awaiting  the  worst.  He  had  not  long  to  wait. 
He  was  arrested,  sent  to  the  Tower,  and  soon  after  tried. 
He  was  permitted  to  make  no  defense,  and  an  executioner 
stood  at  his  side  in  the  dock  with  a  halter  in  his  hand. 
His  condemnation  was  inevitable,  but  English  courts  of 
justice  were  never  so  disgraced,  even  in  the  days  of  the 
brutal  Jeffreys,  as  by  the  means  taken  to  secure  it. 

The  sentence  of  death  was  carried  out  with  equal  bar- 
barity. We  have  accounts  of  it  from  two  eye-witnesses, 
Samuel  Pepys  and  General  Ludlow.  Both  agree  that  Har- 
rison bore  himself  with  calmness  and  fortitude.  He  was 
first  hanged,  then  cut  down  while  still  living,  his  bowels 
cut  out  and  thrown  into  the  fire  before  his  eyes ;  then  his 
head  was  cut  off,  his  body  divided  into  quarters,  and  these 
gory  members  displayed  in  public  places.  And  this  in 
Christian  England,  in  the  year  1660!  No  wonder  that, 
as  Ludlow  says,  Harrison's  bearing  throughout  his  trial 
and  execution  was  such  "  that  even  his  enemies  were  as- 
tonished and  confounded."  They  alleged  nothing  dis- 
creditable in  his  life,  and  his  death  was  as  honorable  to 
him  as  it  was  disgraceful  to  the  people  of  England. 

Nor  was  the  case  of  John  James  one  of  persecution 
in  form,  though  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  it  was 


230  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

such  in  fact.  He  was  arrested  while  preaching  to  his 
flock,  a  Seventh-day  Baptist  church  in  London,  and 
brought  to  trial  on  the  charge  of  treason.  The  evidence 
against  him  seems  to  be  rank  perjury,  attributing  to 
him  such  sayings  as  that  "  the  king  was  a  bloody  tyrant, 
a  bloodsucker,  a  bloodthirsty  man,"  that  "  he  much  feared 
they  had  not  improved  their  opportvmity  when  they  had 
the  power  in  their  hands ;  that  it  would  not  be  long  before 
they  had  power  again,  and  then  they  would  improve  it 
better."  Every  effort  was  made  to  induce  some  of  the 
congregation  to  confirm  these  charges,  but  they  unani- 
mously maintained  that  they  never  heard  such  words. 
But  there  was  no  great  difficulty  in  suborning  wretches 
to  swear  away  the  life  of  a  Dissenting  preacher,  and  he 
was  speedily  found  guilty.  On  the  26th  of  November 
he  was  hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered  at  Tyburn,  and  his 
head  was  placed  on  a  pole  near  his  meeting-house  in 
Whitechapel. 

It  is  probably  unjust  to  hold  Charles  II.  responsible 
for  the  persecutions  that  disgraced  his  reign.  There  is 
no  good  reason  to  suppose  him  insincere  in  his  Breda 
declaration  of  "  a  liberty  to  tender  consciences,  and  that 
no  man  shall  be  disquieted  or  called  in  question  for  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  in  matters  of  religion,  which  do  not 
disturb  the  peace  of  the  kingdom."  The  good  faith  of 
his  promise,  in  the  same  declaration,  to  approve  any 
measure  of  toleration  that  his  Parliament  might  pass 
cannot  be  questioned,  for  he  was  anxious  that  such  a 
measure  might  be  enacted,  so  that  the  Roman  Catholics 
of  England  might  enjoy  toleration. 

But  the  first  Parliament  of  Charles  was  composed 
largely  of  young  men,  not  old  enough  to  remember  the 
misrule  of  the  first  Charles  and  his  ministers,  but  dis- 
tinctly remembering  the  harshness  and  insolence  of  the 
Puritan  rule.     Vindictive  legislation  was  certain  to  be 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIBERTY  23I 

enacted  by  such  a  body,  and  neither  the  king  nor  his 
advisers  could  do  much  to  restrain  these  anti-Puritan 
legislators.  A  new  Act  of  Uniformity  reenacted  the 
prayer-book  of  Elizabeth,  with  a  few  modifications,  and 
required  that  every  minister  who  had  not  received  Epis- 
copal ordination  should  procure  such  orders  before  Au- 
gust 24,  1662.  On  that  day,  the  anniversary  of  the  mas- 
sacre of  St.  Bartholomew,  two  thousand  of  the  most 
learned  and  godly  ministers  in  England  were  driven  from 
their  pulpits — a  loss  from  which  the  Church  of  England 
has  never  recovered  to  this  day. 

A  series  of  laws  was  now  passed  against  those  who 
refused  conformity  to  the  Established  Church  and  its 
rites.  In  1663  the  Conventicle  Act  forbade  all  religious 
meetings  in  private  houses  of  more  than  five  persons 
not  belonging  to  the  family.  In  1665  the  Five  Mile  Act 
prohibited  any  Dissenting  minister  from  going  within  five 
miles  of  any  borough  or  corporate  town.  In  1673  ^^^^ 
Test  Act  excluded  from  all  public  offices  every  one  who 
could  not  produce  a  certificate  from  a  clergyman  that 
he  had  within  a  year  partaken  of  the  communion  accord- 
ing to  the  rites  of  the  Church  of  England.  By  these 
laws,  those  who  refused,  for  conscience'  sake,  to  con- 
form to  the  church  established  by  law  were  deprived  of 
all  their  religious  and  a  great  part  of  their  civil  rights. 

Doubtless  Charles  II.  had  promised  more  than  any 
mortal  could  have  performed ;  doubtless,  also,  he  might 
have  performed  more  had  he  cared  to  do  it.  These  were 
not  laws  after  his  heart — they  bore  too  hard  on  Ro- 
manists for  that — but  as  he  was  powerless  to  protect 
them,  he  cared  little  that  all  other  Dissenters  from  the 
Church  of  England  were  harshly  treated.  Baptists  did 
not  fare  harder  than  many  others.  If  they  kept  perfectly 
quiet  they  were  not  molested;  but  if  they  assembled  for 
religious  meetings  they  became  violators  of  law,  and  the 


22^2  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

man  who  preached  to  them  was  reasonably  certain  of  a 
long  incarceration,  if  he  did  not  receive  stripes  and  the 
stocks  as  well.  Yet  in  spite  of  this  persecution,  Baptists 
increased  in  numbers  rapidly.  Britons  are  a  sturdy  folk, 
and  rather  disposed  to  sympathize  with  one  who  is  hit 
hard ;  so  the  more  Baptists  were  forbidden  to  meet,  the 
more  people  flocked  to  their  meetings. 

The  typical  Baptist  preacher  of  the  time  was  John 
Bunyan,  a  man  of  the  common  people,  a  tinker  by  trade, 
one  who  knew  little  literature  but  his  English  Bible,  but 
who  knew  that  from  lid  to  lid  as  few  know  it  in  these 
days.  We  learn  of  his  early  life  only  from  his  own  ac- 
count :  that  he  was  wild,  irreligious,  fonder  of  sports  than 
of  the  church,  is  plain ;  but  his  self-accusations  of  desper- 
ate wickedness  we  may  discount  heavily.  When  a  man 
calls  himself  the  vilest  of  sinners  he  always  uses  the  words 
in  a  strict  theological  sense,  and  would  quickly  resent 
being  charged  with  actual  vileness,  as  Bunyan  did,  when 
he  hotly  denied  the  charge  that  he  had  been  unchaste. 
After  a  long  conflict  of  soul,  in  which  he  more  than 
once  gave  himself  up  as  eternally  lost,  Bunyan  was  at 
length  soundly  converted.  He  was  never  a  very  orthodox 
Baptist ;  he  seems  to  have  had  his  children  christened 
in  the  Established  Church,  and  it  is  uncertain  whether 
he  was  himself  ever  baptized  on  profession  of  faith ;  he 
repudiated  the  name  Anabaptist  or  Baptist  as  the  badge 
of  a  sect,  and  desired  to  be  called  merely  a  Chris- 
tian; he  vigorously  promulgated  and  defended  the  prac- 
tice of  communing  with  the  unbaptized ;  yet  in  spite 
of  these  vagaries  his  fundamental  notions  were  those 
of  a  Baptist.  As  a  preacher  he  had  great  influence  in 
his  day,  but  his  chief  work  was  done  with  the  pen.  It 
is  one  of  the  marvels  of  literature  that  a  man  of  such 
antecedents  and  training  should  have  written  books  that 
from  the  day  of  publication  took  an  undisputed   rank 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIBERTY  233 

among  the  classics  of  our  language.  The  "  Pilgrim's 
Progress,"  the  hardly  less  popular  "  Holy  War,"  and 
"  Grace  Abounding,"  are  a  trio  not  to  be  matched  in  the 
history  of  Christianity. 

This  achievement  of  Bunyan's  we  probably  owe  to  the 
fact  that  his  active  evangelical  work  was  interrupted  by 
a  long  imprisonment,  amounting  with  several  short  in- 
tervals to  about  thirteen  years.  His  crime  was  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel,  nothing  more;  but  he  would  have 
been  released  much  sooner  had  he  been  willing  to  pledge 
himself  not  to  offend  again.  This  the  sturdy  preacher 
would  not  do;  if  he  had  the  opportunity  again  he  must 
preach,  and  so  he  avowed ;  consequently  in  prison  he 
stayed  until  the  administration  of  the  law  was  greatly 
relaxed,  and  he  was  set  free  with  a  multitude  of  others 
in  like  case. 

It  is  to  his  third  and  last  imprisonment  that  we  owe  his 
immortal  allegory — a  book  rendered  into  more  languages 
than  any  other  save  the  Bible  itself;  a  book  which,  next 
to  the  Bible,  has  been  the  most  effective  teacher  of 
peasant  and  prince ;  which  has  been  the  never-failing 
delight  of  childhood,  has  comforted  our  weary  hours 
in  manhood,  and  will  be  our  treasure  in  old  age.  As 
our  experience  broadens  and  deepens  we  shall  see  new 
beauties  in  it,  for  it  is  a  book  of  which  it  may  be  truly 
said  that  it  "  was  not  of  an  age,  but  for  all  time." 

How  many  of  us  have  taken  the  journey  with  Chris- 
tian, not  in  imagination  merely,  but  in  sober  fact.  We 
have  borne  the  same  intolerable  burden,  have  entered, 
like  him,  the  little  wicket-gate  at  Evangelist's  bidding — 
falling  perchance,  by  the  way,  into  the  Slough  of  Des- 
pond, or  misled  by  Mr.  Worldly  Wiseman's  bad  ad- 
vice— and  have,  like  him,  lost  our  heavy  load  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross.  We  have  had  to  climb  the  Hill  Difficulty, 
and  not  a  few  of  us  have  been  seduced  into  By-path 


234  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

JMeadows,  only  to  fall  into  the  clutches  of  Giant  De- 
spair, and  to  be  cast  into  Doubting  Castle.  We  have 
been  tempted  by  the  gay  shows  of  Vanity  Fair,  and 
have  passed  through  the  dangers  of  the  Enchanted 
Ground.  We  have  been  cheered  on  our  way  by  Hopeful 
and  Faithful,  instructed  by  Interpreter,  and  entertained 
at  the  House  Beautiful.  On  one  day  we  have  caught 
glimpses  of  the  Delectable  Mountains,  only  on  the  next 
to  enter  the  Valley  of  Humiliation,  and  fight  for  our 
lives  with  Apollyon.  We  have  seen  one  and  another  of 
our  companions  pass  through  the  dark  river,  whose 
waters  our  feet  must  soon  enter,  and  happy  are  we  to 
whom  a  vision  has  been  granted  of  the  Shining  Ones, 
conducting  them  into  the  gates  of  the  City  which,  when 
we  have  seen,  we  have  wisht  ourselves  among  them. 

The  events  of  the  reign  of  James  H.  were  favorable 
to  the  development  of  a  spirit  of  toleration  among  Prot- 
estants, who  were  driven  into  a  closer  political  and  re- 
ligious alliance  by  the  fear  of  Roman  Catholic  suprem- 
acy. The  king  in  some  cases  exercised  his  pretended 
power  of  dispensation  to  protect  Baptists  from  the  exe- 
cution of  their  laws;  but  while  they  accepted  the  im- 
munity thus  offered,  they  gave  no  approval  to  the  high- 
handed proceedings  of  the  monarch.  In  pursuance  of 
his  policy  of  securing  Nonconformist  support,  the  king 
appointed  William  Kiffen  alderman  of  the  ward  of  Cheap. 
Mr.  Kiffen  was  much  disturbed,  but  as  counsel  advised 
him  that  refusal  might  entail  a  fine  of  thirty  thousand 
pounds,  he  reluctantly  qualified  for  the  office.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  his  discharge,  however,  nine  months 
later.  The  project  was  a  failure.  Neither  Baptists  nor 
any  other  Nonconformists  were  to  be  hoodwinked,  nor 
could  they  be  flattered  or  bribed  into  approval  of  the 
overriding  of  the  laws  of  England  by  royal  prerogative, 
even  though  those  laws  might  press  hard  on  themselves. 


^■"sas*?^ 


Page  234 


'A^    ^j^yi/y>/^ya/n. 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIBERTY  235 

The  king's  persistence  could  not  overcome  the  opposition 
of  the  people,  but  it  could  and  did  lose  him  his  crown. 

The  revolution  that  overthrew  James  placed  on  the 
throne  the  Prince  of  Orange,  the  descendant  of  that 
heroic  leader  of  the  Netherlands  in  their  long  struggle 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Roman  Catholic  Spain,  the  first 
ruler  in  modern  history  who  was  statesman  enough  and 
Christian  enough  to  incorporate  the  principle  of  religious 
liberty  into  his  country's  laws.  Thanks  to  William  III., 
the  Act  of  Toleration  was  passed  in  1689,  which,  though 
a  mass  of  absurdities  and  inconsistencies  when  carefully 
analyzed,  was  yet  a  measure  of  practical  justice  to  the 
majority,  and  of  great  relief  to  all.  The  penal  laws 
against  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England  were 
not  repealed,  but  Baptists  and  most  other  Protestant 
Dissenters  were  exempted  from  their  operation.  Roman 
Catholics  and  Jews  were  left  still  subject  to  the  penal 
laws,  and  men  so  enlightened  and  liberal-minded  as 
Tillotson  and  Locke  protested  against  granting  tolera- 
tion to  them.  From  that  day  the  grosser  forms  of  per- 
secution ceased  forever,  as  regarded  all  Protestant  bodies, 
though  the  principle  of  complete  religious  liberty  has 
never  yet  found  general  acceptance  in  England. 

The  Baptists  of  the  seventeenth  century  had  many  curi- 
ous customs,  some  of  which  were  borrowed  from  them 
by  the  Friends,  and  survive  among  the  latter  body  to 
this  day.  The  quaint  garb  of  the  Quaker  is  that  of  the 
seventeenth  century  Baptist.  In  public  worship  men  and 
women  sat  on  opposite  sides  of  the  house,  both  partici- 
pating in  the  exhorting  and  "  prophesying,"  as  the 
"  Spirit  moved."  Whether  singing  was  an  allowable 
part  of  worship  was  fiercely  disputed,  and  a  salaried  or 
"  hireling "  ministry  was  in  great  disfavor.  The  im- 
position of  hands  was  practised,  in  the  ordination  not 
only  of  pastors,  but  of  deacons,  and  in  many  churches 


236  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

hands  were  laid  on  all  who  had  been  baptized,  an  act 
that  has  given  place  among  American  Baptists,  at  least, 
to  the  "  hand  of  fellowship."  Fasting  was  a  common  ob- 
servance, feet-washing  was  practised  by  many  churches, 
though  its  obligation  was  earnestly  questioned,  and  the 
anointing  of  the  sick  was  so  common  as  to  be  almost 
the  rule.  Pastors  and  deacons  were  often  elected  by  the 
casting  of  lots,  and  love  feasts  before  the  Lord's  Supper 
were  a  common  practice. 

The  supervision  of  members'  lives  was  strict.  Marry- 
ing out  of  meeting,  as  among  the  Friends,  was  followed 
by  excommunication,  and  the  amusements  that  might  be 
indulged  in  were  carefully  limited.  Disputes  between 
husbands  and  wives,  between  masters  and  servants,  were 
made  subjects  of  church  discipline  and  adjudication,  and 
such  offenses  as  covetousness,  slander,  and  idleness  were 
severely  dealt  with.  To  the  Baptists  of  to-day  this  kind 
of  discipline  seems  a  meddlesome  interference  with  per- 
sonal rights  and  private  affairs,  and  it  has  fallen  into 
disuse  in  all  but  a  few  localities. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS   CONSEQUENCES 

FEW  people  have  borne  the  ordeal  of  persecution 
better  than  the  English  Baptists ;  but  for  a  century- 
after  the  passage  of  the  Act  of  Toleration  it  seemed  that 
they  were  unable  to  bear  freedom.  In  the  history  of 
Christianity  it  has  often  happened  that  the  people  of  God 
have  grown  marvelously  in  spite  of  opposition  and  per- 
secution, but  have  languished  in  times  of  comparative 
prosperity — that  a  sect  that  fire  and  sword  could  not 
suppress  has  degenerated  and  disintegrated  or  finally  dis- 
appeared when  every  external  hindrance  to  prosperity 
had  been  removed.  The  English  Baptists  were  to  furnish 
another  instance  of  this  kind.  After  1689  they  were 
given  a  measure  of  toleration  such  as  they  had  never 
known  in  England — since  it  was  toleration  secured  and 
clearly  defined  by  law,  not  given  by  the  arbitrary  will  of 
one  man.  There  was  no  external  obstacle  to  their  mak- 
ing rapid,  continuous,  and  solid  growth.  Every  indica- 
tion pointed  toward  a  career  of  uninterrupted  progress 
and  prosperity.  Yet  fifty  years  after  the  passage  of 
the  Act  of  Toleration,  the  Baptists  of  England  were 
scarcely  more  numerous  than  they  were  at  the  accession 
of  William  III.,  while  as  to  spiritual  power  they  had 
dwindled  to  a  painful  state  of  deadness  and  inefficiency. 
At  first,  indeed,  they  appeared  likely  to  grow  with 
unusual  rapidity.  The  Confessions  issued  by  them  at 
about  this  time  show  how  quickly  they  felt  the  impulse 
of  hope,  and  how  rapid,  for  a  season,  was  their  develop- 
ment.   In  1677,  the  Particular  churches  published  a  modi- 

237 


238  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

fied  form  of  the  Westminster  Confession,  which  they 
reissued  in  1688.  This  still  forms  the  basis  of  the  Eng- 
Hsh  Confessions,  and,  under  the  name  of  the  Philadelphia 
Confession,  is  the  system  of  doctrine  approved  by  a  large 
number  of  Baptist  churches  of  our  Southern  and  South- 
western States.  The  General  Baptist  brethren  issued 
their  Confession  in  1678,  and  it  is  noticeable  that  its 
Arminianism  is  of  a  type  that  can  hardly  be  distinguished 
from  the  milder  forms  of  Calvinism.  But  while  the  im- 
mediate effect  of  toleration  was  stimulating,  its  later  re- 
sult was  unfavorable  to  sound  growth.  Centralizing 
tendencies  manifested  themselves,  false  doctrine  crept  in, 
and  there  was  a  marked  decline  of  spirituality. 

The  centralizing  tendencies  were  strongest  among  the 
General  Baptists.  By  1671,  a  General  Assembly  had  been 
organized.  This  body  from  the  first  undertook  to  exer- 
cise powers  incompatible  with  the  independence  of  the 
churches.  Not  content  with  such  legitimate  activities 
as  proposing  plans  of  usefulness,  recommending  cases 
requiring  pecuniary  support,  and  devising  means  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel,  it  undertook  the  reformation  of  in- 
consistent or  immoral  conduct  in  ministers  and  private 
Christians,  the  suppression  of  heresy,  the  reconciling  of 
differences  between  individuals  and  churches,  and  giving 
advice  in  difficult  cases  to  individuals  and  churches. 
Some  Baptists  of  our  own  day,  who  lament  the  lack  of 
a  "  strong  government,"  will  find  this  something  closely 
approaching  their  ideal. 

But  mark  the  sequel.  One  Matthew  Caffyn,  a  Sussex 
pastor  of  undoubted  piety  and  alleged  (but  doubtful) 
learning,  was  charged  with  unsound  views  concerning 
the  nature  of  Christ.  There  is  little  doubt  that  his  the- 
ology, if  sound  at  first,  came  to  be  Arian.  He  denied 
the  Deity  of  Christ,  though  calling  him  "  divine  " — a 
fine-spun  distinction  that  some  modern  Unitarians  also 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  239 

make.  Two  parties  sprang  up  in  the  Assembly,  and  the 
body  was  finally  divided  in  1689,  when  Caffyn's  views 
were  pronounced  heretical.  A  new  Assembly  was  formed, 
and  by  1750  the  major  part  of  the  General  Baptists  had 
become  Unitarian  in  their  beliefs.  This  was  followed  by 
worldliness,  lax  discipline,  the  superficial  preaching  of 
mere  morality,  and  the  members  fell  away  in  large  num- 
bers. In  a  petition  that  he  presented  to  Charles  II., 
Thomas  Grantham  declared  that  there  were  twenty 
thousand  General  Baptists  in  England ;  in  the  days  of 
George  II.  there  were  probably  not  half  that  number; 
and  of  these  a  large  part  had  the  form  of  godliness 
without  the  power.  The  "  strong  government "  had 
miserably  failed  to  repress  heresy  or  to  prevent  schism. 

The  Particular  Baptists  organized  the  first  Associations  ; 
the  Somerset,  in  1653,  which  became  extinct  about  1657; 
and  the  IMidland,  formed  in  1655  and  reconstructed  in 
1690,  which  still  exists.  Their  General  Assembly  was 
organized  in  1689,  by  the  agency  of  the  London  churches, 
and  this  body  also  still  lives.  At  its  fourth  meeting,  in 
1692,  the  Association  had  in  its  fellowship  one  hundred 
and  seven  churches.  Warned  by  the  experience  of  their 
General  brethren,  they  "  disclaimed  all  manner  of  su- 
periority or  superintendency  over  the  churches."  They 
were  willing  to  give  advice  in  regard  to  queries,  but  had 
no  notion  of  becoming  a  court  of  appeals  to  settle  church 
quarrels  and  try  heretics.  This  was  not  for  lack  of 
heretics  to  try,  for  the  Particular  churches  had  their 
difficulties  at  this  time  with  certain  troublers  in  Israel, 
who  professed  Antinomian  doctrines  and  complete  sancti- 
fication,  the  results  of  which  teachings  were  disputes  and 
divisions  that  caused  a  great  decline. 

Hyper-Calvinism  was  developed  in  one  section  of  the 
Particular  churches,  and  everywhere  proved  a  blighting 
doctrine.     The  London  Association,  formed  in  1704  by 


240  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

delegates  from  thirteen  churches,  deemed  it  necessary  to 
condemn  the  Antinomian  perversion  of  Calvinism — re- 
garding its  action,  however,  not  a  judicial  decision,  but 
the  deliberate  opinion  of  a  representative  body  of  Baptists. 
The  ablest  and  most  learned  of  the  Baptists  of  this  time, 
John  Gill,  cannot  be  absolved  from  responsibility  for 
much  of  this  false  doctrine.  He  was  the  son  of  a  Dis- 
senting minister  and  a  native  of  Northamptonshire  (born 
at  Kettering,  1697).  As  a  Dissenter  he  could  not  be 
matriculated  at  either  of  the  Universities,  but,  pursuing 
his  education  under  private  tutors,  he  became  a  great 
scholar — in  the  classics,  in  biblical  studies,  and  in  rabin- 
nical  lore  he  was  the  equal  of  any.  His  vigorous  mind 
was  not  weighed  down  by  his  erudition.  Though  not 
eloquent  as  a  preacher,  he  was  an  industrious  writer  of 
books  highly  esteemed  in  their  day  and  very  influential. 
His  "  Commentary  "  on  the  Bible  is  more  learned  than 
perspicuous,  and  Robert  Hall  once  characterized  it  as 
"  a  continent  of  mud,  sir."  If  this  be  regarded  as  a 
hasty  and  unjust  criticism,  the  praise  of  Toplady  must 
be  acknowledged  to  go  to  the  other  extreme :  "  If  any 
man  can  be  supposed  to  have  trod  the  whole  circle  of 
human  learning,  it  was  Doctor  Gill.  .  .  It  would  per- 
haps try  the  constitutions  of  half  the  literati  in  England, 
only  to  read  with  care  and  attention  the  whole  of  what 
he  said.  As  deeply  as  human  sagacity,  enlightened  by 
grace,  could  penetrate,  he  went  to  the  bottom  of 
everything  he  engaged  in." 

Doctor  Gill's  "  Body  of  Divinity,"  published  in  1769, 
was  a  great  treatise  of  the  rigid  supralapsarian  type  of 
Calvinism,  and  long  held  its  place  as  a  theological  text- 
book. This  type  of  Calvinism  can  with  difficulty  be  dis- 
tinguished from  fatalism  and  antinomianism.  If  Gill  did 
not  hold,  as  his  opponents  charged,  that  the  elect  live  in 
a  constant  state  of  sanctification  (because  of  the  imputed 


Page  240 


John  Gill 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  24I 

righteousness  of  Christ),  even  while  they  commit  much 
sin,  he  did  hold  that  because  of  God's  election  Christians 
must  not  presume  to  interfere  with  his  purposes  by  in- 
viting sinners  to  the  Saviour,  for  he  will  have  mercy  on 
whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and  on  no  others.  This  is 
practically  to  nullify  the  Great  Commission;  and,  in  con- 
sequence of  this  belief,  Calvinistic  Baptist  preachers 
largely  ceased  to  warn,  exhort,  and  invite  sinners ;  hold- 
ing that,  as  God  will  have  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have 
mercy,  when  he  willed  he  would  effectually  call  an  elect 
person,  and  that  for  anybody  else  to  invite  people  to 
believe  was  useless,  if  not  an  impertinent  interference 
with  the  prerogatives  of  God.  What  wonder  that  a 
spiritual  dry-rot  spread  among  the  English  churches 
where  such  doctrines  obtained !  Could  any  other  result 
be  reasonably  expected  as  the  fruits  of  such  a  theology? 

It  must,  however,  in  justice  be  said  that  this  was  a  time 
of  general  decline  in  religion  among  Englishmen,  which 
began  with  the  Restoration,  and  became  marked  from 
the  beginning  of  the  Hanoverian  period.  Many  causes 
combined  to  bring  religion  to  this  low  estate.  In  the 
desire  to  avoid  Romanism  on  the  one  hand  and  Puritan- 
ism on  the  other,  the  Established  Church  had  fallen  into 
a  colorless,  passionless,  powerless  style  of  teaching.  The 
clergy  were  estranged  from  the  House  of  Hanover,  and 
the  whole  church  system  was  disorganized.  By  suc- 
cessive withdrawals  of  its  best  men,  the  Church  had  been 
seriously  weakened,  while  the  Dissenting  bodies  had  not 
been  correspondingly  strengthened.  Deism  had  made 
great  strides  among  people  and  clergy,  and  Christianity 
was  but  half  believed  and  less  than  half  practised. 

Here,  indeed,  was  the  great  secret  of  the  religious 
collapse  that  had  overtaken  England.  There  was  a  seri- 
ous deterioration  in  the  moral  fiber  of  the  people,  the 
cause  of  which  is  not  far  to  seek.  This  deterioration 
Q 


2^2  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

plainly  had  its  source  in  that  general  and  widespread 
corruption  of  the  highest  orders  of  society  that  began 
with  the  reign  of  Charles  II,  and  had  continued  ever 
since.  During  the  reign  of  the  Stuarts  the  body  of  the 
poeple  continued,  as  to  moral  character  and  religious 
ideas,  substantially  what  they  had  been.  After  a  genera- 
tion or  two,  however,  the  example  of  the  higher  classes 
was  not  without  its  effect.  When  king  and  courtiers 
made  a  scoff  of  religion,  when  they  lived  in  open  lewd- 
ness and  ostentatious  impiety,  the  ideals  of  the  people 
could  not  fail  to  be  greatly  affected  though  the  change 
might  be  slow.  The  corruptions  sown  during  the  Stuart 
period  were  bearing  abundant  fruit  in  church  and  society 
long  after  the  Stuarts  had  lost  the  throne  of  England 
forever.  Phillimore,  a  historian  of  English  jurispru- 
dence, sums  up  the  matter  in  saying:  "  The  upper  classes 
were  without  refinement ;  the  middle,  gross  without 
humor;  and  the  lower,  brutal  without  honesty." 

But  it  was  through  the  clergy  that  the  effects  of  the 
Restoration  chiefly  made  themselves  felt  on  the  religious 
life  of  the  nation.  In  the  Established  Church  the  man- 
ners and  morals  of  the  clergy,  as  depicted  in  contem- 
porary literature,  were  frightful.  The  drunken,  lecher- 
ous, swearing,  gaming  parson  is  a  familiar  character  in 
the  plays  and  romances  of  the  period,  and  survives  even 
to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  Preferment  in 
Church  depended  upon  subserviency  to  those  who  were 
masters  in  State,  and  the  clergy  took  their  tone  from  the 
court.  Not  only  was  personal  piety  a  bar  to  advance- 
ment rather  than  a  recommendation,  but  virtual  infidelity 
in  the  State  bred  rationalism  in  theology.  The  clergy 
became  timid,  apologetic,  latitudinarian  in  their  teaching, 
and  the  people  became  like  unto  them.  Religion  never 
sank  to  so  low  an  ebb  in  England  as  during  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  243 

Lest  this  should  be  thought  too  black  a  picture,  painted 
by  an  unfriendly  hand,  let  an  English  churchman  be 
heard.  Bishop  Ryle  says :  "  From  the  year  1700  till  about 
the  era  of  the  French  Revolution,  England  seemed  bar- 
ren of  all  good.  .  .  There  was  darkness  in  high  places 
and  darkness  in  low  places ;  darkness  in  the  court,  the 
camp,  the  Parliament,  and  the  bar;  darkness  in  the 
country  and  darkness  in  town ;  darkness  among  rich, 
and  darkness  among  poor — a  gross,  thick,  religious  and 
moral  darkness ;  a  darkness  that  might  be  felt." 

But  a  man  had  been  raised  up  for  just  this  emergency, 
and  by  a  long  and  peculiar  experience  he  had  been  pre- 
pared to  cope  with  the  powers  of  darkness.  John  Wes- 
ley was  the  son  of  an  English  clergyman,  educated  at 
Oxford,  in  his  youth  an  ardent  believer  in  High  Church 
principles  and  full  of  self-righteousness.  Going  on  a 
mission  to  the  new  colony  of  Georgia,  he  fell  into  com- 
pany with  some  Moravians,  and  received  his  first  in- 
struction in  the  true  meaning  of  the  gospel.  On  his 
return  to  England,  he  sought  out  others  of  this  people ; 
and  it  was  in  the  year  1738,  at  the  meeting  of  a  Mo- 
ravian Society  in  London,  that  John  Wesley  felt,  as  he 
tells  us,  for  the  first  time :  "  I  did  trust  in  Christ,  Christ 
alone,  for  salvation ;  and  an  assurance  was  given  me  that 
he  had  taken  away  my  sins,  even  mine,  and  saved  me 
from  the  law  of  sin  and  death."  Soon  England  was 
shaken  by  the  preaching  of  the  new  birth  and  immediate 
justification  by  faith,  and  the  second  Reformation  had 
begim.  Driven  from  the  pulpits  of  the  Established 
Church — of  which  he  was,  and  remained  to  the  day  of 
his  death,  a  presbyter  in  full  standing — Wesley  began, 
though  with  fear  and  trembling,  to  preach  in  the  fields. 
In  this  he  had  been  preceded  by  George  Whitefield,  a 
fellow-student  at  Oxford,  and  a  member  also  of  a  small 
religious  club  that  had  been  nicknamed  "  Methodists." 


244  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Whitefield  was  the  greater  preacher,  Wesley  the  greater 
organizer  and  leader.  Together,  and  powerfully  aided 
by  other  helpers  only  less  eloquent  and  less  able,  they 
accomplished  the  greatest  religious  revolution  of  modern 
times. 

Not  only  did  they  call  into  being  societies  all  over 
the  kingdom,  which,  at  John  Wesley's  death  numbered 
one  hundred  thousand  members ;  but,  as  has  been  well 
said,  the  Methodists  themselves  were  the  least  result  of 
the  revival.  A  great  wave  of  religious  zeal  swept  over 
the  entire  English  nation,  and  left  permanent  results 
upon  the  national  character,  institutions,  laws.  Upon  the 
Church  of  England  itself  the  effect  was  most  marked, 
possibly  because  here  reformation  was  most  needed.  The 
clergy  were  roused  from  their  lethargy;  the  whole  spirit 
of  the  church  was  transformed  and  permanently  altered 
for  the  better.  Skepticism  was  checked,  and  religion 
became  once  more  respectable  among  the  titled  and  the 
rich.  An  "  Evangelical  "  party  arose,  which  ruled  the 
Church  of  England  for  the  next  fifty  years,  and  included 
among  its  members  some  of  the  most  godly  ministers 
and  laymen  that  church  has  ever  possessed.  A  new 
moral  enthusiasm  was  roused  in  the  nation,  as  was 
manifest  in  the  changed  attitude  of  the  people  toward 
all  policies  in  which  ethical  issues  were  involved.  The 
abolition  of  the  slave  trade  may  be  directly  traced  to 
the  revival,  as  well  as  the  new  philanthropy  that  from 
this  time  forward  became  a  national  trait.  In  short,  in 
the  throes  of  this  movement,  England  was  born  again, 
and  the  new  life  on  which  she  then  entered  has  endured 
to  the  present  hour. 

It  is  superfluous  to  say  that  the  Baptists  of  England 
participated  in  the  benefits  of  this  second  Reformation. 
With  it  begins  a  new  era  in  their  history,  an  era  of 
growth,  of  zeal,  of  missionary  activity,  which  gave  them 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  245 

a  leading  place  among  the  Nonconformists  of  England. 
While  this  is  true  regarding  all  the  Baptist  churches, 
perhaps  the  most  immediate  and  striking  results  of  the 
Wesleyan  movement  may  be  traced  in  the  growth  of  the 
General  Baptists. 

Among  the  early  converts  of  the  Wesleyan  revival  was 
a  youthful  Yorkshireman,  the  son  of  a  miner,  himself 
a  worker  in  the  mines  from  his  fifth  year.  Dan  Taylor 
was  of  sturdy  frame  and  great  native  intelligence, 
though  his  education  was  naturally  of  the  slightest.  Soon 
after  his  conversion,  he  began  to  visit  the  sick  and  lead 
prayer-meetings  with  the  zeal  not  unusual  in  new  con- 
verts, but  with  an  ability  so  unusual  that  his  brethren 
encouraged  him  to  attempt  preaching.  His  first  sermon 
was  preached  in  a  dwelling-house  near  Halifax,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1 76 1.  The  leading  Methodists  of  Yorkshire  en- 
couraged his  efforts  and  urged  him  to  visit  Mr.  Wesley 
and  be  enrolled  in  the  ranks  of  the  regular  Wesleyan 
preachers ;  but  there  were  things  in  the  discipline  and 
doctrine  of  the  societies  that  he  did  not  approve,  and 
about  midsummer,  1762,  he  withdrew  finally  from  all 
connection  with  the  Methodists. 

At  this  time  there  were  a  few  Christians  in  the  village 
of  Heptonstall,  not  far  from  Halifax,  who  had  done  the 
same.  They  invited  Taylor  to  preach  to  them.  For 
some  months  he  preached  to  them  in  the  open  air,  under 
a  tree.  The  prospect  was  discouraging,  the  country  wild, 
and  the  people  rough  and  unpolished,  yet  he  determined 
to  remain  and  preach  the  gospel  to  them.  On  the  ap- 
proach of  winter,  they  obtained  a  house  to  meet  in,  taking 
up  part  of  the  chamber  floor  and  converting  the  rest  into 
a  gallery.  The  house  was  duly  registered  under  the 
Act  of  Toleration,  and  during  the  week  Taylor  taught 
a  school  in  it,  to  eke  out  his  support.  These  people  had 
left  both  the  Church  of  England  and  the  Methodists, 


246  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

but  had  joined  no  other  body.  They  began  to  study  the 
New  Testament,  with  a  view  to  determining  some  plan 
of  church  order  and  some  principles  of  doctrine.  Taylor 
diligently  used  such  books  as  he  could  obtain,  and  the 
result  of  his  investigations  was  to  convince  him  that 
believers'  baptism  is  the  only  thing  warranted  by  the 
Scriptures.  There  were  Particular  Baptists  about  Halifax, 
but  they  were  bitterly  hostile  to  all  who  held  the  Arminian 
theology;  and  since  Taylor  persisted  in  holding  that 
Jesus  Christ  had  tasted  death  for  every  man  and  made 
propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  they  would 
not  help  him  to  obey  Christ — though  several  expressed 
their  firm  persuasion  that  he  was  a  genuine  Christian, 
and  were  even  well  satisfied  of  his  call  to  the  ministry. 
He  learned  at  length  that  in  Lincolnshire  there  were 
Baptists  of  sentiments  like  his  own,  and  with  a  friend 
he  set  out  to  travel  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  on  foot.  They  found,  however,  a  congregation  of 
General  Baptists  at  Gamston,  Nottinghamshire ;  and 
though  they  were  received  rather  coolly  at  first,  after  a 
conference  of  three  days  they  were  baptized  in  the  river 
near-by,  February  16,  1763. 

Returning,  Taylor  and  his  people  organized  a  General 
Baptist  church,  the  only  one  at  that  time  in  Yorkshire, 
and  in  the  autumn  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  at 
Birchcliflf.  At  first  they  connected  themselves  with  the 
Lincolnshire  churches  of  like  faith,  but  speedily  became 
aware  of  the  great  degeneracy  that  had  occurred.  Many 
of  the  General  Baptists  had  come  to  deny  the  atonement, 
justification  by  faith  alone,  and  regeneration  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  As  Taylor  made  the  acquaintance  of  General 
Baptists  in  the  midland  counties,  he  found  them  more 
evangelical.  A  preliminary  conference  was  held  at  Lin- 
coln about  Michaelmas,  1769,  and  a  formal  organization 
was  eflfected  in  London,  June  7,  1770,  of  "  The  Assembly 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  247 

of  the  Free  Grace  General  Baptists,'!  commonly  known 
as  the  "  New  Connexion."  Two  Associations,  a  North- 
ern and  a  Southern,  were  also  formed  at  once.  The 
Northern  consisted  in  1772  of  seven  churches  and  one 
thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  members,  which 
by  1800  had  increased  to  twenty-two  churches  and  two 
thousand  six  hundred  members.  The  Southern  Asso- 
ciation never  showed  much  vitality.  In  Yorkshire,  as  we 
have  seen,  there  was  but  one  church  at  the  beginning, 
but  at  the  end  of  fifteen  years  there  were  four. 

The  progress  of  the  New  Connection  was  due  almost 
wholly  to  Dan  Taylor.  He  was  the  life  and  soul  of  the 
movement.  Everything  that  he  set  his  hand  to  pros- 
pered ;  when  he  took  his  hand  away  things  languished. 
His  mind  was  naturally  vigorous,  and  he  found  means 
to  cultivate  its  powers  and  make  of  himself  a  fairly  edu- 
cated man.  His  body  seemed  incapable  of  fatigue  and 
his  labors  were  herculean.  If  anything  demanded  doing, 
he  was  ready  to  do  it.  Did  an  Association  wish  a  cir- 
cular letter  to  the  churches,  he  wrote  it ;  was  a  minister 
in  demand  for  a  sermon,  a  charge,  or  any  other  service, 
from  Berwick-on-Tweed  to  Land's  End,  Dan  Taylor 
was  on  hand.  He  led  in  the  establishment  of  the  fund 
for  the  education  of  ministers,  in  1796,  and  was  principal 
of  the  academy — or,  as  we  should  say  nowadays,  theo- 
logical seminary — established  for  the  purpose  in  1798. 
He  edited  the  "  General  Baptist  Magazine  " ;  he  traveled 
up  and  down  England,  traversing,  it  is  said,  twenty-five 
thousand  miles,  mostly  on  foot.  And  he  preached  con- 
stantly ;  a  sermon  every  night  and  three  on  Sunday  was 
his  ordinary  allowance,  and  on  special  occasions  he 
preached  several  times  a  day.  Even  the  labors  of  John 
Wesley  are  equaled,  if  not  surpassed,  by  this  record. 

One  story  has  been  preserved  that  well  illustrates  a 
trait  of  his  character,  his  indomitable  energy.     At  one 


248  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

time  in  his  life  he  had  some  difficulty  with  his  eyes  and 
feared  he  might  lose  his  sight.  He  was  at  first  appalled 
by  the  prospect,  as  anybody  would  naturally  be ;  then  he 
determined  that  he  would  learn  the  whole  Bible  "  by 
heart,"  so  that  when  his  eyesight  was  gone  he  might 
still  be  able  to  preach  the  gospel.  He  began  his  task, 
and  had  actually  accomplished  a  good  part  of  it  when 
his  trouble  left  him,  and  he  desisted.  No  wonder  that 
such  a  man  was  a  successful  evangelist ;  such  determina- 
tion and  pluck  will  make  a  man  successful  in  any  calling ; 
and  qualities  of  this  kind,  as  well  as  the  anointing  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  are  needed,  if  one  is  to  be  a  great  evangelist. 
God  makes  no  mistakes ;  he  never  selects  for  a  great  work 
the  lazy,  half-hearted,  weak-willed  man,  but  one  who  has 
energy  and  grit  and  perseverance,  as  well  as  piety.  It 
is  impossible  to  bore  through  granite  with  a  boiled  carrot ; 
it  requires  a  steel  drill. 

Dan  Taylor  fell  asleep  in  his  seventy-eighth  year,  and 
the  phrase  almost  literally  describes  his  end,  for  suddenly, 
without  a  groan  or  sigh,  he  expired  while  sitting  in  his 
chair.  His  work  was  well  done,  and  English  Baptists 
still  feel  the  result  of  his  manly  piety  and  zealous  labors. 

The  change  that  gradually  came  over  the  Particular 
Baptists  is  not,  to  so  great  an  extent,  identified  with 
the  character  and  labors  of  a  single  man.  It  is  still  true, 
however,  that  to  the  influence  of  Andrew  Fuller  such 
change  is  largely  due,  especially  the  modification  of  the 
Baptist  theology,  that  was  an  indispensable  prerequisite 
to  effective  preaching  of  the  gospel.  Fuller  was  born  in 
Cambridgeshire  in  1754,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  be- 
came deeply  convicted  of  sin.  It  was  long  before  the 
way  of  life  became  clear  to  him,  but  at  length  he  reached 
a  faith  in  Christ  from  which  he  never  wavered.  The 
witnessing  of  a  baptismal  service  in  March,  1770 — until 
then  he  had  never  seen  an  immersion — wrought  immediate 


Page  24 


Andrew  Fuller 


.  I 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  249 

conviction  in  his  mind  that  this  was  the  only  form 
of  obedience  to  the  command  of  Christ,  and  a  month 
later  he  was  himself  baptized.  In  the  spring  of  1775 
he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  in  1782  became 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Kettering,  which  he  served  until 
his  death,  in  181 5.  He  was  a  sound  and  edifying 
preacher,  but  not  a  great  orator ;  nevertheless,  few  pulpit 
orators  have  had  so  wide  a  hearing,  or  so  deeply 
influenced  their  generation. 

Fuller  was,  first  of  all,  mighty  with  his  pen.  He  was 
mainly  self-educated,  and  never  became  a  real  scholar, 
but  he  had  a  robust  mind  capable  of  profound  thought, 
and  he  learned  to  express  himself  in  clear,  vigorous 
English.  The  result  was  to  make  him  one  of  the  most 
widely  read  and  influential  theological  writers  of  Eng- 
land or  America.  Large  editions  of  his  writings  were 
sold  in  both  countries,  and  they  bid  fair  to  be  still  "  in 
print "  when  much-vaunted  works  of  a  later  day  are 
forgotten.  Fuller  boldly  accepted  and  advocated  a  doc- 
trine of  the  atonement  that,  until  his  day,  had  always 
been  stigmatized  as  rank  Arminianism,  viz.,  that  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  as  to  its  worth  and  dignity,  was 
sufficient  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  and  was  not  an 
offering  for  the  elect  alone,  as  Calvinists  of  all  grades 
had  hitherto  maintained.  Along  with  this  naturally  went 
a  sublapsarian  interpretation  of  the  "  doctrines  of  grace," 
and  this  modified  Calvinism  gradually  made  its  way 
among  Baptists  until  it  has  become  well-nigh  the  only 
doctrine  known  among  them. 

But  Fuller  was  also  great  as  an  organizer  and  man 
of  affairs.  He  became  secretary  of  the  missionary  so- 
ciety of  the  Baptists,  and  in  pursuance  of  his  duties  trav- 
eled from  one  end  of  England  to  another  many  times ; 
five  times  he  traversed  Scotland  for  the  same  object, 
and  once  he  made  a  like  tour  of  Ireland.    He  was  a  man 


250  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

of  splendid  physique,  tall  and  strongly  built,  and  eyes 
deep-set  under  bushy  brows  lighted  up  a  massive  face 
that  was  a  good  index  of  his  character.  To  his  sturdy 
mind,  enlightened  zeal,  and  indefatigable  labors,  the  Bap- 
tist cause  in  England,  and  in  America  as  well,  owes  a 
debt  that  can  hardly  be  acknowledged  in  words  too 
emphatic. 

But  the  most  important  of  those  results  that  may  be 
directly  or  indirectly  traced  to  the  Wesleyan  revival,  re- 
mains to  be  described.  The  man  destined  to  do  more 
than  any  other  toward  the  regeneration  of  English  Bap- 
tists, and  to  be  an  inspiration  to  all  other  Christians, 
was  some  years  younger  than  Andrew  Fuller.  This  was 
William  Carey.  He  was  born  in  1761,  not  of  Baptist 
parentage;  on  the  contrary,  his  father  was  an  old-school 
Churchman,  and  bred  his  son  in  holy  horror  of  all  "  Dis- 
senters." But  Carey  heard  the  gospel  preached,  he  was 
convicted  of  sin,  and  converted,  and  like  most  young 
converts,  took  to  reading  his  Bible  with  new  zest.  The 
New  Testament  speaks  for  itself  to  any  one  who  will 
honestly  read  it  to  learn  what  it  teaches,  and  Carey  soon 
learned  what  a  Christian  church  ought  to  be  and  what 
a  converted  man  ought  to  do.  He  not  only  saw  his  duty, 
but  did  it,  though  it  required  him  to  join  himself  to  cer- 
tain of  the  despised  Dissenters.  He  was  baptized  on 
profession  of  faith,  in  the  river  Neu,  on  October  5,  1783, 
by  Dr.  John  Ryland.  Little  did  Doctor  Ryland  know 
that  he  was  performing  the  most  important  act  of  his  life, 
and  as  little  did  he  guess  that  this  humble  youth  was  to 
become  a  great  man.  "  This  day  baptized  a  poor  jour- 
neyman shoemaker  "  is  the  curt  entry  in  the  good  doctor's 
diary. 

It  was  evident,  however,  from  the  beginning  that  Carey 
was  a  young  man  of  promise.  He  became  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church  at  Olney,  of  which  Rev.  John  Sutcliffe 


-        -fel 

mi  ■> 


:^^ 


•-^  r«- 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  2$ I 

was  pastor.  He  showed  gifts  in  exhortation  that  war- 
ranted his  pastor  and  friends  in  urging  him  to  preach, 
and  he  was  not  long  in  making  his  fitness  for  the  min- 
istry evident.  In  1787  he  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of 
a  little  Baptist  church  at  Moulton,  and  ordained.  He 
already  had  a  wife  and  two  children,  and  the  Moulton 
church  was  so  poor  that  he  could  be  paid  only  seventy- 
five  dollars  a  year.  He  was  obliged,  therefore,  during 
the  week  to  work  as  a  cobbler  for  the  support  of  his 
family.  At  the  same  time  he  had  a  thirst  for  learning, 
and  as  he  worked  his  custom  was  to  keep  by  him  a  book 
for  study.  In  this  way  he  is  said  in  seven  years  to  have 
learned  to  read  five  languages,  including  Greek  and  He- 
brew. If  young  men  and  women  whose  educational  ad- 
vantages have  been  limited  would  but  take  a  tithe  of  the 
pains  to  utilize  their  odd  minutes  that  Carey  took,  they 
might  do  anything  they  chose.  It  is  true  Carey  had  a 
remarkable  gift  for  acquiring  languages,  but  even  more 
remarkable  than  this  was  his  determination  to  learn,  in 
spite  of  difficulties.  It  is  that  determination  which  is 
lacking  in  most,  more  than  ability  to  learn. 

Carey  not  only  studied  text-books,  but  read  all  good 
books  that  he  could  borrow,  and  among  these  was  a  copy 
of  Captain  Cook's  voyages.  He  also  kept  a  school  after 
a  time,  and  of  course  had  to  teach  the  children  geog- 
raphy. In  these  ways  his  mind  was  turned  toward  the 
destitute  condition  of  the  heathen  and  their  need  of  the 
gospel.  But  when  he  began  to  talk  to  others  about  it, 
he  met  with  little  encouragement,  and  it  is  said  that  once 
when  he  began  in  a  Baptist  gathering  to  speak  of  a  mission 
to  the  heathen.  Doctor  Ryland  exclaimed :  "  Sit  down, 
young  man ;  when  the  Lord  gets  ready  to  convert  the 
heathen  he  will  do  it  without  your  help  or  mine !  "  It 
is  not  recorded  whether  Carey  sat  down  or  not,  but  he 
certainly   did   not   give   up   advocating   missions   to   the 


252  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BxVPTISTS 

heathen.  Apart  from  the  hyper-Calvinism  disclosed  by 
Doctor  Ryland's  remark,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  Carey 
received  so  little  encouragement  at  first.  English  Bap- 
tists were  poor,  and  so  great  an  enterprise  might  well 
have  seemed  to  them  beset  with  unsurmountable  diffi- 
culties. But  Carey  wisely  declined  to  consider  the  matter 
of  possibilities ;  he  looked  only  at  the  question  of  duty. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  replied  to  a  young  clergyman 
who  asked  if  it  were  not  useless  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  Hindus :  "  With  that  you  have  nothing  to  do.  Look 
to  your  marching  orders,  '  Go,  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature.' "  The  soldier  was  right  and  the  preacher 
stood  justly  rebuked. 

With  difficulty  Carey  got  together  money  to  print  and 
circulate  a  tract  called  "  An  Enquiry  into  the  Obliga- 
tions of  Christians  to  Use  Means  for  the  Conversion  of 
the  Heathens."  Not  long  after  this  came  from  the  press 
his  great  opportunity  arrived — he  was  appointed  to 
preach  the  sermon  at  the  meeting  of  his  Association  at 
Nottingham,  May  30,  1792.  He  chose  as  his  text  Isaiah 
44  :  2,  3,  and  announced  as  the  "  heads  "  of  his  dis- 
course :  "  Expect  great  things  from  God ;  attempt  great 
things  for  God."  It  was  one  of  the  days  on  which  the 
fate  of  denominations  and  even  of  nations  turns.  It  roused 
those  who  listened  to  a  new  idea  of  their  responsibility 
for  the  fulfilment  of  Christ's  commission.  Even  then, 
nothing  might  have  come  of  it  but  for  an  impassioned 
personal  appeal  of  Carey's  to  Andrew  Fuller,  not  to  let 
the  meeting  break  up  without  doing  something.  A  reso- 
lution was  passed,  through  Fuller's  influence,  that  a  plan 
be  prepared  for  establishing  a  missionary  society,  to  be 
presented  at  the  next  ministers'  meeting. 

That  meeting  was  held  in  Andrew  Fuller's  study,  at  Ket- 
tering, October  2,  and  then  and  there  "  The  English  Bap- 
tist Missionary  Society  "  was  organized.     Its  constituent 


C '" 

r.  z 

>  r 

z  r 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  253 

members  were  twelve,  and  out  of  their  poverty  they 
contributed  to  its  treasury  the  sum  of  thirteen  pounds 
two  shilhngs  and  six  pence.  What  a  sum  with  which 
to  begin  the  evangeHzation  of  the  world !  The  history 
of  this  society  is  an  instructive  commentary  on  the  Scrip- 
ture, "  For  who  hath  despised  the  day  of  small  things." 
The  London  churches,  the  richer  churches  among  Bap- 
tists, stood  aloof  from  this  movement.  It  was  the  poorer 
country  churches  that  finally  raised  enough  money  to 
send  out  in  June,  1793,  Carey  and  a  Baptist  surgeon 
named  Thomas,  who  had  previously  been  in  India  and, 
as  he  had  opportunity,  had  preached  the  gospel  as  a 
layman  and  a  physician. 

The  British  East  India  Company  was  bitterly  opposed 
to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  India,  fearing  that  the 
natives  might  be  provoked  to  rise  against  the  govern- 
ment. It  is  not  exaggerating  to  say  that  Christianity 
has  done  more  than  any  other  thing,  more  than  strong 
battalions,  to  maintain  England's  rule  in  India.  But  the 
directors  could  not  foresee  this.  One  said  he  would  see 
a  band  of  devils  let  loose  in  India  rather  than  a  band 
of  missionaries.  Englishmen  who  survived  the  Sepoy 
rebellion  were  rather  less  anxious  to  see  devils  let  loose 
in  India,  and  much  more  favorably  disposed  toward  mis- 
sionaries. For  a  time  Carey,  and  the  next  missionaries 
sent — Marshman  and  Ward — established  themselves  at 
Serampore,  a  Danish  settlement  not  far  from  Calcutta. 
Here  a  missionary  press  was  set  up,  and  Doctor  Carey 
did  the  great  work  of  his  life  in  translating  and  printing 
the  Scriptures  in  the  various  Indian  languages.  He  had, 
as  we  have  seen,  a  special  aptitude  for  the  acquisition 
of  languages.  He  had  shown  this  before  leaving  Eng- 
land, but  he  demonstrated  it  more  clearly  after  he  reached 
India.  The  rapidity  and  ease  with  which  he  acquired 
the  various  languages  spoken  there  have  never  been  sur- 


254  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

passed,  and  he  became  in  a  short  time  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  Oriental  scholars. 

To  every  man  his  gifts.  Others  could  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  the  heathen  as  well  as  Carey,  or  better,  for  he 
never  seems  to  have  developed  special  power  as  a 
preacher.  But  no  one  could  equal  him  as  scholar, 
translator,  writer.  He  wisely  spent  his  time  and  strength 
in  translating  the  Scriptures  and  other  Christian  litera- 
ture into  the  Indian  languages  and  dialects,  in  making 
grammars,  and  the  like.  Thus  he  not  only  did  a  great 
work  for  his  own  generation,  but  one  that  will  last  for 
all  time,  or  so  long  as  these  languages  shall  be  spoken. 
Before  his  death,  there  had  been  issued  under  his  super- 
vision, he  himself  doing  a  large  part  of  the  work,  versions 
of  the  Scriptures  in  forty  different  languages  or  dia- 
lects, spoken  by  a  third  of  the  people  on  the  globe;  and 
of  these  Scriptures  two  hundred  and  twelve  thousand 
copies  had  been  issued. 

In  his  later  years,  men  like  Sydney  Smith  ceased  to 
sneer  at  the  "  consecrated  cobbler,"  and  Carey  was  hon- 
orded  as  a  man  of  his  learning,  piety,  and  exalted  charac- 
ter deserved.  In  1801  he  was  made  professor  of  Bengali  in 
Lord  Wellesley's  new  College  of  Fort  William,  at  Cal- 
cutta; and  titles  and  honors  were  showered  upon  him 
toward  the  close  of  his  life.  The  learned  societies  of 
Europe  recognized  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  scholars 
•of  his  age.  But  he  was  to  the  last  a  humble  missionary 
of  the  religion  of  Christ.  He  is  justly  regarded  as  the 
father  of  modern  missions,  for  though  Baptists  were  not 
the  first  in  modern  times  to  engage  in  this  work,  it  was 
Carey  and  his  work  that  drew  the  attention  of  all  Chris- 
tians to  it,  that  quickened  the  Christian  conscience,  and 
that  gave  the  missionary  cause  a  great  forward  impulse 
which  it  has  never  since  lost. 

From  the  first  the  mission  thus  established  prospered, 


THE  SECOND  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  255 

in  Spite  of  the  obstacles  thrown  in  its  way  by  British  of- 
ficials and  the  fire  of  ridicule  kept  up  in  the  rear  by  men 
who  ought  to  have  been  in  better  business.  The  first 
secretary  of  this  body  was  Andrew  Fuller,  to  whose  in- 
defatigable labors  was  due  much  of  its  growth  in  financial 
strength  and  missionary  zeal.  The  society  has  several 
times  extended  its  operations,  and  in  addition  various 
enterprises  have  been  conducted  by  churches  and  indi- 
viduals in  Africa  and  Italy.  In  this  work,  and  in  many 
other  forms  of  service,  the  General  and  Particular 
Baptists  united,  prior  to  their  formal  union. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

OF  the  English  Baptist  churches  now  in  existence, 
but  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  were  estabHshed 
before  the  Act  of  Toleration,  and  during  the  next  half- 
century  only  sixty-eight  more  were  added  to  the  number. 
From  1750  onward,  as  the  effects  of  the  Wesleyan  move- 
Iment  began  to  be  felt,  the  growth  was  more  rapid,  and 
;in  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  Baptist  churches  were  constituted,  of  which 
more  than  one  hundred  belong  to  the  last  two  decades. 
From  this  time,  seven  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century 
show  a  rapid  and  ever-increasing  rate  of  progress.  The 
first  half  of  the  century  saw  an  addition  of  seven  hundred 
churches ;  the  second  half  exceeds  even  this  growth, 
showing  a  total  number  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty-one 
churches  established.  The  last  two  decades  are  less  re- 
markable for  increase  in  the  number  of  churches,  but 
on  the  other  hand,  they  show  a  gratifying  advance  in 
the  strength  and  efficiency  of  the  churches  already 
founded. 

It  does  not  seem  fanciful  to  trace  a  close  connection 
between  this  growth  of  the  churches  and  the  development 
of  organization  that  followed  the  Carey  movement.  The 
first  step  was  taken  by  the  formation  of  the  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society  in  1779,  followed  by  the  Baptist 
Union  in  1832.  Both  societies  did  much  to  unite  the 
churches  in  evangelistic  efforts,  but  the  older  society  was 
more  distinctively  missionary  in  its  aims  and  methods. 
In  1865  the  society  was  united  with  the  Irish  Missionary 
256 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY  257 

Society  (formed  in  1814)  to  form  the  British  and  Irish 
Baptist  Home  IMission,  and  now  for  some  years  this  has 
been  merged  in  the  Baptist  Union  for  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  which  became  an  incorporated  body  in  1890. 
The  General  Baptists  had  estabhshed  a  missionary  so- 
ciety in  1816,  and  other  societies  of  various  kinds  at 
other  times ;  but  in  1891,  the  General  Baptists  united  with 
the  Particular  Baptists,  and  now  all  the  various  mission- 
ary and  benevolent  societies  of  both  bodies  are  admin- 
istered as  departments  of  the  Baptist  Union.  The  dis- 
tinctions of  doctrine  anciently  maintained  by  these  two 
wings  of  the  denomination  long  since  practically  dis- 
appeared, and  it  was  proper  that  distinctions  in 
administration  should  no  longer  be  maintained. 

The  missionary  movement  begun  by  Carey  and  his . 
coadjutors  had  a  stimulating  effect  by  no  means  confined 
to  his  own  denomination.  IMissionary  societies  were ' 
speedily  formed  by  other  bodies  of  Christians,  and  even 
the  Church  of  England  was  stirred  to  do  something  for 
the  evangelizing  of  heathen  lands.  And  this  new 
activity  was  not  limited  to  strictly  missionary  effort. 
The  great  work  of  Carey,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  Eastern  tongues, 
and  a  multitude  of  others  followed  in  his  footsteps.  In 
1804  a  large  number  of  evangelical  Christians,  of  some 
ten  or  more  different  denominations,  formed  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  for  the  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures  in  all  lands,  without  note  or  comment.  It  was 
due  to  the  activity  of  Rev.  Joseph  Hughes,  a  Baptist  min- 
ister of  Battersea,  that  this  society  was  formed,  and  he 
w^as  its  first  secretary.  Baptists  generally  were  active 
in  the  support  of  the  society,  and  for  a  generation  grants 
were  freely  made  from  its  treasury  to  aid  the  printing 
of  Carey's  translations.  This  w^as  done  with  full  knowl- 
edge of  the   fact  that   Carey  and  others  translated  all 


258  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

words,  including  haptizo  and  its  cognates — official  corre- 
spondence left  no  question  possible  regarding  this  point. 
In  1835  Messrs.  Yates  &  Pearce  had  ready  for  publi- 
cation a  revised  copy  of  Carey's  Bengali  Bible,  and  ap- 
plied to  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  for  aid 
in  printing  it.  This  application  was  refused,  unless  they 
would  guarantee  that  "  the  Greek  terms  relating  to  Bap- 
tism be  rendered,  either  according  to  the  principle 
adopted  by  the  translators  of  the  authorized  English 
version,  by  a  word  derived  from  the  original,  or  by  such 
terms  as  may  be  considered  unobjectionable  by  other  de- 
nominations composing  the  Bible  Society."  The  demand 
was,  in  plain  English,  either  that  the  Baptist  missionaries 
should  not  translate  baptho  and  its  cognates  at  all,  or  that 
they  should  make  a  wrong  translation ! 

More  than  six  hundred  Baptist  ministers  presented  to 
the  society,  in  1837,  a  protest  against  its  unjust,  un- 
catholic,  and  inconsistent  action ;  and  in  January,  1840, 
a  final  remonstrance  was  addressed  to  the  society  by  the 
Baptist  Union.  Nothing,  of  course,  came  of  these  pro- 
tests, and  therefore  on  March  24,  1840,  the  Baptists  of 
England  formed  the  Bible  Translation  Society,  in  order 
to  "  encourage  the  production  and  circulation  of  com- 
plete translations  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  competently  au- 
thenticated for  fidelity,  it  being  always  understood  that 
the  words  relating  to  the  ordinance  of  baptism  shall  be 
translated  by  terms  signifying  immersion."  This  society 
is  still  in  existence,  and  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having 
printed  and  distributed  over  six  million  copies  of  the 
Scriptures,  at  a  cost  of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

Two  of  the  greatest  preachers  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury came  from  the  ranks  of  the  English  Baptists.  The 
first,    Robert    Hall,    belongs    in    part    to    the    preceding 


THE    NINETEEI^TH    CENTURY  259 

century.  He  was  born  near  Leicester,  in  1764,  the  young- 
est child  of  a  family  of  fourteen,  weak  in  body,  and  pre- 
cocious in  mind.  He  was  an  accomplished  theologian  at 
the  tender  age  of  nine,  having  then  mastered  (among 
other  works)  "Edwards  on  the  Will"  and  Butler's 
"  Analogy."  Notwithstanding  such  precocity,  he  did  not 
prove  to  be  a  fool,  but  was  one  of  the  few  "  remarkable 
children  "  who  turn  out  really  remarkable  men.  In  his 
fifteenth  year  he  began  his  series  of  studies  for  the  min- 
istry at  Bristol  College,  where  his  progress  in  learning 
was  rapid ;  but  as  a  preacher  he  seemed  likely  to  be  a 
failure.  On  his  first  public  trial  he  repeatedly  broke 
down,  through  an  excessive  sensibility  that  made  public 
speech  an  agony  to  him,  almost  an  impossibility.  He 
mastered  this  weakness,  however,  and  thenceforth  stead- 
ily increased  in  power  as  an  orator.  Four  years  spent  at 
King's  College,  Aberdeen,  where  he  was  first  in  all  his 
classes,  brought  him  to  his  majority.  His  pastorates 
were  at  Cambridge,  Leicester,  and  Bristol,  and  in  each 
city  his  ministry  was  greatly  successful.  Many  of  his 
sermons  were  printed  and  had  a  wide  circulation.  No 
preacher  of  his  time  was  more  highly  esteemed  by  the 
leaders  of  thought  in  Great  Britain.  Hall  was  master 
of  an  ornate  and  stately  kind  of  eloquence  long  extinct 
in  the  pulpit,  much  esteemed  in  its  day  and  perhaps  too 
little  esteemed  now.  To  the  present  generation  his  sen- 
tences seem  cumbrous,  his  style  is  pronounced  afifected 
and  stilted,  his  tropes  frigid.  Indeed,  the  reader  of  to- 
day is  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  his  sermons  could 
ever  have  won  such  encomiums  as  they  received.  Yet 
at  his  death,  in  1831,  it  was  universally  agreed  that  one 
of  the  greatest  lights  of  the  pulpit  had  been  extinguished. 
The  other  preacher,  Charles  Haddon  Spurgeon,  was 
a  man  of  quite  different  mold.  His  father  and  grand- 
father had  been  Congregationalist  preachers,  and  from 


26o  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

his  birth,  in  1834,  he  was  predestined  to  the  same  career. 
This  did  not  become  clear  to  him,  however,  until  his 
conversion  in  his  seventeenth  year.  He  felt  it  his  duty 
to  unite  with  a  Baptist  church,  and  soon  after  his  bap- 
tism began  to  preach.  He  had  received  a  fair  educa- 
tion, about  equal  to  that  given  by  a  good  American 
academy,  and  was  already  a  teacher  in  a  private  school. 
His  success  as  a  preacher  led  him  to  forego  any  further 
training,  and  from  his  eighteenth  year  until  his  death,  in 
(1892,  he  was  constantly  engaged  in  what  was  to  him  the 
most  delightful  and  the  most  honorable  of  all  callings. 
It  was  a  dangerous  experiment ;  only  one  man  of  a 
thousand  could  have  escaped  disaster,  but  Spurgeon  was 
that  man.  In  the  autumn  of  1853  he  was  called  to  the 
Southwark  Baptist  Church,  where  his  predecessors  had 
been  such  men  as  Keach,  Gill,  and  Rippon,  and  there  he 
spent  the  rest  of  his  life. 

The  success  of  the  young  preacher  was  immediate  and 
1  wonderful.  During  the  rest  of  his  life  Spurgeon  had 
Vontinuously  the  largest  congregations  of  any  preacher 
in  the  world,  and  soon  his  sermons  were  printed  and 
scattered  broadcast,  until  through  the  press  he  spoke 
weekly  to  more  than  half  a  million  people.  But  he  was 
more  than  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness ;  he  bears  the 
supreme  test  of  greatness  that  can  be  applied  to  a 
preacher — he  not  only  gained  a  great  reputation  for  elo- 
quence, but  proved  himself  a  builder.  His  church  grew 
to  more  than  five  thousand  members — the  largest  Baptist 
church  in  the  world.  He  founded  the  Pastors'  College 
for  the  education  of  ministers,  and  hundreds  of  gradu- 
ates attest  by  godly  living  and  fruitful  ministry  the  worth 
of  what  he  thus  did.  He  established  the  Stockwell  Or- 
phanage, in  which  more  than  five  hundred  children  have 
been  maintained  and  educated  annually  for  nearly  thirty 
years.     A  Colportage  Association,  a  Book  Fund,  and  a 


^^^^^  ^^2::^ 


Page  260 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY  261 

successful  religious  magazine  were  among  his  other  prac- 
tical achievements.  And  when  he  was  called  to  his  re- 
ward, all  these  institutions  went  on,  with  little  impair- 
ment of  their  efficiency ;  what  he  had  built  was  so  solidly 
built  that  the  shock  of  his  death  could  do  it  no  serious 
harm. 

During  the  latter  part  of  Spurgeon's  life  there  was,  as ; 
he  believed,  a  great  declension  in  theology  among  the 
English  Baptists.  By  diligent  study  through  life  he  had 
become,  if  not  exactly  a  great  theologian,  a  well-read, 
well-trained  minister,  especially  versed  in  the  Scriptures 
and  the  writings  of  the  great  Puritan  divines.  From  first 
to  last  he  was  the  unfaltering  advocate  of  the  pure  gos- 
pel of  Christ.  A  moderate  Calvinist  as  to  theology,  he 
preached  an  atonement  for  the  whole  world  and  salva- 
tion through  Christ's  blood  to  every  one  who  will  believe. 
He  stood  like  a  rock  against  the  advancing  tide  of  lax 
teaching  and  lax  practice,  and  at  least  retarded,  if  he 
did  not  check,  the  movement  that  he  described  as  "  the 
down  grade."  This  led  him  to  sharp  controversy  with 
many  of  his  brethren,  and  finally  induced  him  to 
withdraw  from  the  Baptist  Union. 

Besides  Hall  and  Spurgeon,  the  Baptist  pulpit  of  Eng- 
land produced  other  great  preachers  during  the  last 
century,  two  of  whom  at  least  are  still  living — Alexander 
McLaren,  the  eloquent  Manchester  divine  (born  at  Glas- 
gow, 1825),  and  John  Clifford  (born  1836),  everywhere 
known  as  one  of  the  most  scholarly,  able,  and  polished 
preachers  of  his  time.  Nor  have  there  been  lacking  lay- 
men of  equal  eminence — to  mention  three  examples 
only — Major-General  Havelock,  the  hero  of  the  Indian 
Mutiny  (1795-1857);  Thomas  Spencer  Baynes,  ll.  d. 
(1823-1887),  long  professor  of  logic  and  metaphysics  at 
the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  and  a  writer  of  world- 
wide repute;  and  Sir  Robert  Lush  (1807-1881),  one  of 


262  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

the  foremost  men  at  the  bar,  and  Lord-Justice  of  the 
High  Court  of  Appeals.  It  would  be  easy,  but  also  un- 
profitable, to  make  a  long  catalogue  of  distinguished 
names,  only  less  worthy  of  mentioning  than  these. 
Enough  has  been  said,  however,  to  show  that  Baptists 
have  been  by  no  means  an  obscure  and  feeble  folk  in 
England  for  the  last  hundred  years  or  more. 

The  English  Baptists  began  the  century  just  closing 
not  differing  greatly  in  numbers  from  their  brethren  in 
America ;  but  their  rate  of  increase  has  been  much 
smaller.  Why  so  marked  a  difference  of  growth?  Amer- 
ican Baptists  are  accustomed  to  answer,  To  the  difference 
in  the  effective  maintenance  of  Baptist  principles.  The 
Baptists  of  America  have  been  consistent  and  united, 
while  their  English  brethren  have  been  divided  and  in- 
consistent. The  answer  may  be  far  from  satisfactory, 
it  may  ignore  many  important  elements  of  the  problem, 
and  yet  it  may  be  at  least  a  partial  explanation  of  the 
unquestionable  fact. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  from  the  beginning  there 
were  so-called  Baptist  churches  of  mixed  membership — 
that  is  to  say,  not  exclusively  Baptist,  but  composed  in 
part  of  Pedobaptists.  This  is  due  to  the  circumstances 
of  their  origin.  In  nearly  every  case  which  is  matter 
of  record,  the  early  Baptist  churches  of  the  seventeenth 
century  were  formed  from  previously  existing  Separatist 
churches  of  the  Congregational  order.  The  separations 
between  those  who  had  come  to  hold  to  believers'  baptism 
only  and  those  who  still  held  to  Pedobaptism  were  gen- 
erally peaceful,  frequently  friendly.  In  some  cases  there 
was  no  formal  separation,  the  majority  holding  to  be- 
lievers' baptism  and  tolerating  Pedobaptism  in  the 
minority.  In  other  cases  a  church  was  organized  on  the 
principle  of  permitting  full  liberty  in  the  matter  of  bap- 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY  263 

tism,  both  as  to  subjects  and  form.  That  churches  so 
composed  should  remain  in  full  fellowship  with  Pedo- 
baptist  churches  is  nothing  surprising;  why  should  they 
not  commune  with  Pedobaptist  churches,  since  they  ad- 
mitted Pedobaptists  to  membership  in  their  own  churches, 
which,  of  course,  carried  with  it  the  privilege  of  com- 
munion ?  To  admit  some  Pedobaptists  to  the  Lord's  table 
and  exclude  others  would  have  been  inconsistency  too 
ridiculous. 

From  the  first,  therefore,  there  was  a  division  of 
sentiment  and  practice.  Baptists  like  William  Kiffen, 
John  Spilsbury,  and  Hanserd  Knollys,  stood  for  the  con- 
sistent Baptist  position  that  the  church  should  be  com- 
posed of  baptized  believers  only,  and  that  only  such  are 
warranted  or  invited  by  New  Testament  precept  and  ex- 
ample in  coming  to  the  table  of  the  Lord.  On  the  other 
hand.  Baptists  like  Henry  Jessey,  John  Tombes,  and  John 
Bunyan,  favored  the  laxer  practice  of  communing  with 
all  Christians,  while  Jessey  and  Bunyan  at  least  were  pas- 
tors of  churches  of  mixed  membership.  There  was  hot 
debate  over  this  question  of  open  communion,  as  any  one 
may  see  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  a  copy  of 
Bunyan's  "  Complete  Works,"  of  which  there  are  many 
editions.  Words  decidedly  warm  passed  between  Bunyan 
and  Kiffen,  and  of  course  neither  party  was  convinced 
by  the  arguments  of  the  other.  Mixed  churches  and 
open  communion  remained  the  practice  of  a  considerable 
part  of  the  English  Baptists,  and  had  the  advocacy  of 
some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  denomination. 

The  natural  result,  one  that  might  have  been  predicted 
from  well-known  principles  of  human  nature,  was  that 
the  growth  of  English  Baptists  was  relatively  slow,  even 
in  times  when  their  piety  and  zeal  were  high.  Baptist 
growth  has  always  been  in  proportion  to  the  stanchness 
with  which  Baptist  principles  have  been  upheld  and  prac- 


264  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

tised.  So  it  ever  has  been  with  all  religious  bodies. 
Nothing  is  gained  by  smoothing  off  the  edges  of  truth 
and  toning  down  its  colors,  so  that  its  contrast  with  error 
may  be  as  slight  as  possible.  On  the  contrary,  let  the 
edges  remain  a  bit  rough,  let  the  colors  be  heightened, 
so  that  the  world  cannot  possibly  mistake  the  one  for 
the  other,  and  the  prospect  of  the  truth  gaining  accept- 
ance, is  greatly  increased.  The  history  of  every  relig- 
ious denomination  teaches  the  same  lesson :  progress 
depends  on  loyalty  to  truth.  Compromise  always  means 
decay. 

The  present  century  has  witnessed  the  most  rapid 
change  among  the  Baptists  of  England  with  regard  to 
the  communion.  The  most  powerful  factor  in  producing 
this  twofold  defection  was  Robert  Hall.  Starting  from 
premises  that  Socinus  would  have  heartily  approved,  he 
reached  the  conclusion  that  the  neglect  of  baptism  is  to 
be  tolerated  by  the  churches  as  an  exercise  of  Christian 
liberty  (a  Christian  at  liberty  to  disobey  Christ !),  and  that 
sincerity  rather  than  outward  obedience  is  the  test  that 
the  "  genius  of  Christianity  "  proposes.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  such  teachings,  large  numbers  of  Baptist 
churches  became  "  open."  This  change  has  been  followed 
by  its  logical  result — a  result  inevitable  wherever  "  open  " 
communion  is  adopted  and  given  full  opportunity  to  work 
itself  out — the  formation  of  churches  of  mixed  member- 
ship. In  many  of  these,  the  trust-deeds  distinctly  specify 
that  Baptists  and  Pedobaptists  shall  have  equal  rights, 
and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  such  a  church  to  have  a 
Pedobaptist  pastor.  In  many  other  so-called  Baptist 
churches  of  England  the  ordinance  of  baptism  is  seldom 
or  never  administered;  Pedobaptists  are  received  to 
membership  on  equal  terms  with  the  baptized ;  they  are 
chosen  to  office,  and  even  to  the  pastorate.  In  short,  so 
effectually  is  the  church  disguised  as  frequently  to  be 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY  265 

reckoned  by  both   Baptists   and   Independents   in   their 
statistics.^ 

Spurgeon's  attitude  towards  these  questions  has  very 
often  been  misunderstood.  He  did  not  absolutely  agree 
with  the  practice  of  the  American  Baptists  regarding  the 
communion,  but  he  did  very  nearly,  and  it  is  an  abuse 
of  terms  to  call  him  an  ''  open  communionist."  He  did 
not  advocate  or  practise  the  promiscuous  invitation  of 
all  Christians  to  the  table  of  the  Lord.  The  communion 
service  was  held  on  Sunday  afternoon  in  the  Tabernacle, 
and  admission  was  by  ticket  only.  Members  of  the 
church,  of  course,  were  furnished  with  tickets.  Any  per- 
son not  a  member,  desiring  to  attend  and  partake  of  the 
Supper,  must  satisfy  the  pastor  or  deacons  that  he  was 
a  member  in  good  standing  of  an  evangelical  church, 
when  he  would  receive  a  ticket.  At  the  end  of  three 
months  he  would  be  quietly  told  that  he  had  had  an  op- 
portunity to  become  acquainted  with  the  church,  and 
they  would  be  glad  to  have  him  present  himself  as  a 
candidate  for  membership ;  otherwise  he  would  do  well 
to  go  elsewhere,  where  he  could  conscientiously  unite. 
This  is  a  more  restricted  communion  than  is  practised 
by  most  Baptist  churches  in  America,  for  in  large  num- 
bers of  our  churches  Pedobaptists  occasionally  partake 
of  the  communion  without  any  such  careful  safeguards. 
Spurgeon  did  not  believe  in  mixed  membership ;  he  ab- 
horred it.  No  one  could  be  a  member  of  the  IMetropolitan 
Tabernacle  church  unless  he  was  a  baptized  believer — 
credibly  a  believer,  and  certainly  baptized.  From  our 
point  of  view,  it  was  very  unfortunate  that  he  gave  the 
approval  of  his  example  to  even  occasional  communion 
with  those  whom  he  believed  unbaptized.     His  practice 

^  Thirty-four  such  churches  are  set  down  among  the  Baptist  churches  of 
England  in  the  "  Baptist  Handbook,"  and  of  these  six  had  Congregational 
pastors   in    1901. 


266  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

was  to  this  extent  illogical  and  inconsistent,  and  some- 
what weakened  the  general  healthfulness  of  his  influence. 
He  frankly  admitted  this  in  private  conversations,  on 
many  occasions,  and  explicitly  said  that  were  he  a  pas- 
tor in  America  he  should  conform  to  the  practice  of 
American  Baptists.  Compared,  however,  with  the  "  open 
communion "  Baptists  of  England,  he  was  strongly 
orthodox  and  rigidly  conservative. 

Among  the  ministers  who  established  the  first  Baptist 
churches  in  England  was  a  large  proportion  of  men 
who  had  been  educated  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  for 
the  Church  of  England,  but  there  were  also  from  the  first 
men  whose  early  education  had  been  very  slight.  Among 
these  latter,  such  preachers  as  Kiffen  and  Bunyan  were 
certainly  not  a  whit  inferior  to  the  better-trained  men. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  not  long  before  the  Baptist  churches 
felt  the  importance  of  establishing  schools  for  the  edu- 
cation of  their  ministry.  These  are  always  called  "  col- 
leges "  in  England,  but  dififer  from  the  colleges  of  Amer- 
ica in  being  not  schools  of  arts,  but  schools  of  theology. 
The  oldest  of  these  schools  now  surviving  is  Bristol 
College,  founded  in  1770  by  the  Northern  Baptist  Edu- 
cation Society.  There  are  usually  twenty-five  students 
in  attendance.  They  have  opportunity  to  pursue  studies 
in  arts  in  Bristol  University  College,  and  some  of  the 
students  take  their  degrees  at  London  University. 
Another  college  was  instituted  in  1797  in  London,  and 
has  had  numerous  habitations  since  then,  but  is  now  lo- 
cated at  Midland,  Nottingham.  Thirteen  students  is  a 
good  attendance  for  this  institution.  Rawdon  College, 
near  Leeds,  in  Yorkshire,  was  founded  by  the  Northern 
Baptist  Education  Society,  in  1804,  and  has  been  in  its 
present  home  since  1859.  The  best  known  of  these 
colleges  is  perhaps  that  established  in  1810  at  Stepney,  but 


Charles  Haddon  Spur<;eon 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY  267 

removed  in  1856  and  since  then  known  as  the  Regents' 
Park  College.  Dr.  Joseph  Angus  was  for  many  years 
its  honored  head.  The  two  last-named  schools  have  an 
annual  attendance  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty,  and  from 
Regents'  Park  some  five  hundred  ministers  in  all  have 
gone  forth.  The  Pastors'  College,  founded  by  Mr.  Spur- 
geon,  in  1856,  has  about  sixty  students.  The  strict-com- 
munion churches  established  a  college,  now  located  at 
Manchester,  in  1866,  which  has  an  attendance  rarely  or 
never  exceeding  twenty  students. 

The  other  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom  are  not  with- 
out similar  provision.  The  Welsh  Baptists  at  present 
have  two  theological  schools:  Cardiff  College,  founded 
in  1897,  and  formerly  located  at  Pontypool ;  and  Bangor 
College,  instituted  at  Llangollen,  in  1862.  An  annual  at- 
tendance of  about  twenty  students  is  reported  from  both 
colleges.  A  single  theological  college  is  maintained  by 
Baptists  at  Glasgow.  It  furnishes  strictly  theological 
education  to  students  who  have  taken  the  arts  course  in 
a  Scottish  University,  leading  to  the  degree  of  m.  a. 
A  college  at  Dublin,  with  six  students,  is  also  reported 
by  the  Baptists  of  Ireland. 

Besides  the  General  and  Particular  Baptists,  there  have 
been  and  still  are  several  organizations  in  England,  hold- 
ing Baptist  principles  in  general,  but  adding  to  them 
some  distinguishing  peculiarity  of  faith  or  practice. 

The  Six-principle  Baptists  were  so  called  from  the 
stress  they  laid  on  the  "  six  principles  "  enumerated  in 
Heb.  6:1,2:  Repentance,  faith,  baptism,  laying  on  of 
hands,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  eternal  life.  Of 
these,  the  fourth  is  the  only  one  really  peculiar  to  this 
body — the  laying  of  hands  on  all  after  baptism,  as  a  token 
of  a  special  impartation  of  the  Spirit.  In  March,  1690, 
the  churches  holding:  these  views  formed  an  Association. 


268  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

This  continued  with  varying  fortunes  for  some  years; 
at  its  strongest,  numbering  but  eleven  churches  in  Eng- 
land, though  there  were  others  in  Wales  when  the  Cal- 
vinistic  Baptists  withdrew,  and  the  rest  of  the  churches 
were  gradually  absorbed  into  the  General  body. 

The  Seventh-day  Baptists  (so  called  from  their  ob- 
servance of  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  for  rest  and 
worship,  instead  of  the  first)  were  founded  in  1676  by 
the  Rev.  Francis  Bampfield,  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  and 
at  one  time  prebend  of  Exeter  Cathedral.  This  has  al- 
ways been  a  small  body,  and  at  the  present  time  but  one 
church  survives,  the  Mill  Yard,  in  Whitechapel,  London. 
This  church  was,  a  few  years  ago,  reduced  to  a  member- 
ship of  about  half  a  dozen,  and  could  secure  no  pastor 
of  its  own  faith  in  England.  The  property  being  very 
valuable,  special  efforts  were  made  in  behalf  of  the 
church,  a  pastor  was  sent  to  them  from  America,  and 
they  became  more  prosperous  than  for  many  years  before. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

BAPTISTS  IN  THE  GREATER  BRITAIN 

THERE  are  traditions  among  the  Welsh  Baptists  of 
an  ancient  origin,  and  some  of  their  historians  have 
not  hesitated  to  claim  for  them  an  antiquity  reaching 
back  to  the  days  of  the  apostles.  When  such  claims  are 
submitted  to  the  ordinary  tests  of  historic  criticism,  how- 
ever, they  vanish  into  thin  air.  Baptist  history  in  Wales, 
as  distinguished  from  tradition,  begins  with  the  period 
of  the  Commonwealth.  The  most  moderate  and  judicious 
of  the  Welsh  Baptist  writers.  Rev.  Joshua  Thomas,  says 
that  the  oldest  church  in  the  principality  is  one  formed 
at  or  near  Swansea,  in  Glammorganshire,  in  1649.^  But 
one  church  now  in  existence,  the  Wrexham,  in  Denbigh- 
shire, claims  an  earlier  date,  1630;  and  as  a  few  years 
ago  it  was  content  with  the  year  1635  as  the  true  date 
of  its  origin,  it  is  probable  that  neither  is  matter  of  record. 
The  honor  of  organizing  this  first  Baptist  church  in 
Wales  belongs  to  John  Myles.  He  was  born  about  1621, 
and  matriculated  at  Brasenose  College,  Oxford,  in  1636. 
Whether  he  ever  took  orders  in  the  Church  of  England 
is  not  positively  known,  but  it  is  probable  that  he  did. 
At  any  rate,  he  began  to  preach  the  gospel  about  1645, 
and  by  1649  was  so  highly  esteemed  as  to  be  named  one 
of  the  Triers  for  Wales  during  the  Protectorate.  In  that 
year,  a  few  baptized  believers  were  gathered,  and  they 
continued  to  increase  until  the  Restoration,  when  Myles 

1  There  is  a  tradition  of  an  earlier  church  of  Welsh  Baptists  at  Olchon, 
in  Herefordshire  (1633),  but  no  record  survives  to  prove  that  such  a  church 
ever  existed 

269 


270  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

and  most  of  the  church  emigrated  to  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts. 

The  man  to  whom  the  Baptist  cause  in  Wales  owes 
most  in  its  early  years  is  Vavasor  Powell.  He  was  born 
in  1677,  and  was  descended  from  a  Radnorshire  family 
of  great  antiquity  and  distinction.  It  is  not  known  where 
he  received  his  education,  but  it  is  certain  that  he  be- 
came a  scholar  of  notable  attainments  and  that  he  early 
obtained  preferment  in  the  Established  Church.  He  was 
led  to  entertain  Puritan  sentiments  by  intercourse  with 
some  of  that  persuasion,  and  by  the  reading  of  their 
literature,  and  in  1642  came  to  London  and  joined  the 
Parliamentary  party.  He  was  for  a  time  settled  at  Dart- 
mouth, in  Kent,  where  his  ministry  was  very  fruitful, 
but  calls  from  his  native  Wales  led  him  to  return  thither, 
which  he  did  in  1646,  bearing  with  him  the  highest 
testimonials  as  to  his  piety  and  gifts,  signed  by  Charles 
Herte,  prolocutor,  and  seventeen  other  divines  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly. 

Precisely  when  Powell  became  a  Baptist  is  not  known, 
but  it  must  have  been  before  1655,  for  in  that  year  Thur- 
loe  speaks  of  him  as  "  lately  rebaptized."  ^  It  is  prob- 
able that  most  or  all  of  the  churches  he  established  were 
of  mixed  membership.  He  favored  the  practice  of 
open  communion  also.  From  these  lax  practices  the 
Welsh  Baptists  were  soon  emancipated,  and  became 
what  they  still  are,  notable  for  the  consistency  and  zeal 
with  which  they  advocate  and  maintain  the  distinctive 
principles  of  their  denomination.  The  zeal  and  eloquence 
of  Powell  exceeded  his  consistency ;  he  was  a  most  la- 
borious and  successful  evangelist  throughout  the  princi- 
pality, and  by  the  Restoration  he  had  established  some 
twenty  churches,  of  which  some  had  from  two  hundred 
to  five  hundred  members.    He  died  in  1670.    He  has  been 

1  "  State  Papers,"   IV.,   373. 


BAPTISTS  IN  THE  GREATER  BRITAIN  27 1 

called  the  Whitefield  of  Wales,  and  his  abundant  and 
fruitful  labors  seem  well  to  merit  such  a  title. 

But  eight  of  the  existing  churches  of  Wales  were 
founded  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  before  the  Act 
of  Toleration  only  thirty-one  were  added  to  the  number. 
From  the  passage  of  that  Act,  however,  the  growth  of 
Baptists  in  the  principality  has  been  rapid,  especially 
since  1810.  The  formation  of  Associations  began  in 
1799,  and  the  Baptist  Union  of  Wales  was  organized  in 
1867. 

More  potent  than  the  influence  of  organization  in 
the  promotion  of  this  growth  has  been  a  succession 
of  godly  and  eloquent  Baptist  preachers.  One  of  the 
most  celebrated  of  these  was  Christmas  Evans,  so  named 
because  he  was  born  on  the  25th  of  December,  1766.  In 
spite  of  poverty  and  many  difficulties,  he  obtained  a 
good  elementary  education,  and  shortly  after  his  conver- 
sion and  baptism  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two.  We  may  judge  of  the  state  of  affairs 
in  Wales  at  the  time,  when  we  are  told  that  after  he  had 
been  nearly  ten  years  in  the  ministry  and  was  highly 
esteemed,  he  was  paid  by  two  churches  that  he  served, 
the  salary  of  seventeen  pounds  a  year !  Nevertheless,  he 
continued  to  labor,  not  only  as  pastor  of  churches,  but 
as  evangelist  in  general  to  Wales,  until  he  rested  from 
his  labors  in  1838.  In  a  ministry  of  half  a  century  he 
had  preached  all  over  his  native  country,  with  great 
power,  and  with  equal  eloquence  and  originality. 

Through  the  efforts  of  such  men,  the  Baptist  cause 
has  made  rapid  progress  in  Wales  throughout  the  nine- 
teenth century,  which  saw  at  its  close  eight  hundred  and 
thirty-five  churches  and  a  membership  of  one  hundred 
and  six  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-six  (including 
Monmouthshire).  Though  for  a  time  Arminian  doctrines 
threatened  to  make  serious  inroads,  the  Welsh  Baptists 


2/2  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

have  as  a  whole  remained  ardent  Calvinists  down  to  the 
present  time.  Of  their  churches  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
nine  maintain  services  in  the  EngHsh  language,  and  of 
these  quite  a  proportion — some  say  nearly  half — have 
adopted  the  open  communion  practices  of  their  neighbors 
in  England.  This  is  especially  true  of  churches  in  the 
large  towns.  The  churches  that  adhere  to  their  native 
language  also  adhere  to  the  well-established  principles 
and  practices  of  the  faith. 

The  Baptist  churches  of  Scotland  do  not  pretend  to 
any  great  antiquity.  The  oldest  church  now  existing 
was  founded  in  Keiss,  in  Caithnesshire,  in  1750.  It  was 
formed  upon  the  estate  of  Sir  William  Sinclair,  who  was 
immersed  in  England,  and  became  a  preacher  of  the 
truth  on  his  return.  The  next  oldest  churches  are  in 
Edinburgh.  The  Bristo-place  church  was  constituted  in 
1765,  by  Rev.  Robert  Carmichael,  originally  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  then  a  Glasite  and  later  an  Independent 
preacher,  who  finally  rejected  the  doctrine  and  practice 
of  infant  baptism,  and  going  to  London  for  the  purpose, 
was  baptized  by  Doctor  Gill.  The  other  church  owes 
its  origin  to  Archibald  McLean,  who  also  began  his 
career  in  the  Scotch  church  and  then  became  a  Glasite, 
having  been  at  one  time  a  member  of  ]\Ir.  Carmichael's 
church.  Not  long  after  his  former  pastor,  he  also  became 
a  convert  to  Baptist  views,  and  sought  baptism  on  per- 
sonal profession  of  faith.  Besides  these  churches,  one  in 
Glasgow  claims  the  date  of  1768  for  its  foundation,  and 
two  in  Paisley  are  said  to  have  been  organized  in  1795. 
There  are  no  other  Baptist  churches  in  Scotland  formed 
earlier  than  1803. 

Archibald  McLean  almost  deserves  to  be  called  the 
founder  of  the  Scotch  Baptist  churches.  He  was  born 
in  1733,  received  the  rudiments  of  a  classical  education, 


BAPTISTS   IN   THE   GREATER   BRITAIN  273 

from  which  he  afterwards  advanced  by  his  own  exertions 
to  considerable  learning,  and  became  a  printer  at  Glas- 
gow. He  had  in  early  life  been  much  influenced  by  the 
preaching  of  Whitefield,  and  was  finally  constrained  him- 
self to  become  a  preacher.  He  was  even  more  influential 
by  pen  than  by  voice,  and  his  collected  writings  in  six 
volumes  are  still  a  monument  to  his  industry  and  solidity 
of  mind.  His  membership  for  a  time  in  a  Glasite  or 
Sandemanian  church  had  important  consequences.  It 
was  the  special  endeavor  of  that  peculiar  sect  to  re- 
turn as  far  as  possible  to  apostolic  simplicity,  and  to 
make  the  churches  of  to-day  an  exact  reproduction  of 
those  of  the  New  Testament.  From  many  of  his  Sande- 
manian notions  IMcLean  never  freed  himself,  and  the 
Baptist  churches  of  Scotland  have  perpetuated  not  a  few 
of  these  notions,  such  as  insisting  on  having  a  plurality 
of  elders  in  every  church,  on  the  weekly  celebration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  like.  Later  investigations  of 
the  New  Testament  period  have  disclosed  the  fact,  ap- 
parently not  suspected  by  McLean  and  men  of  his  time, 
that  no  single  form  of  organization  was  common  to  all 
the  churches  of  that  period,  and  that  it  is  unsafe  to 
assert  a  practice  found  in  a  single  church  to  be  nec- 
essarily the  norm  for  all  other  churches  through  all  time. 
Next  to  McLean,  possibly  the  Baptists  of  Scotland 
owe  most  to  the  brothers  Haldane,  Robert  (1764-1842) 
and  James  Alexander  (i 768-1 851).  Both  were  educated 
for  the  navy  and  served  for  some  years  with  distinction. 
Robert  inherited  a  large  fortune  and  retired  to  his  es- 
tate at  Airthrey,  where  he  became  much  interested  in 
religion,  and  finally  sold  his  estate,  that  he  might  have 
means  to  carry  out  his  projects.  James  likewise  be- 
came interested  in  religion,  and  retired  from  service  to 
become  a  preacher.  In  1799  he  was  ordained  pastor 
of  an  Independent  church  in  Edinburgh,  for  which 
s 


274  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

his  brother  built  him  in  1801  a  fine  edifice,  known  as 
the  Tabernacle.  Other  congregations  were  established 
in  Glasgow,  Dundee,  and  other  cities. 

The  Haldanes  had  been  bred  in  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
but  these  churches  were  Independent  or  Congregational, 
and  this  movement  was  watched  with  great  interest  by 
the  English  Independents.  There  was  much  dissatisfac- 
tion at  this  time  with  the  State  church  system  in  Scot- 
land, and  the  prospects  of  Congregationalism  seemed 
bright.  In  1808,  however,  both  brothers  became  con- 
vinced that  infant  baptism  is  not  scriptural,  and  resolved 
to  teach  and  maintain  believers'  baptism.  This  was  the 
signal  for  the  temporary  disruption  of  their  movement, 
but  James  continued  his  work  in  Edinburgh  and  evangel- 
istic tours  throughout  the  kingdom,  while  his  brother's 
purse  ^  was  at  his  service  always.  For  fifty  years  this 
eloquent  preacher  held  his  own  with  the  great  pulpit 
lights  of  Edinburgh,  and  during  his  time  of  service 
thirty-eight  Baptist  churches  were  founded — about  one- 
third  of  the  total  number  in  Scotland  at  the  present  time. 
The  formation  of  the  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  for 
Scotland  in  1816  must  be  credited  with  a  part  of  this 
growth,  no  doubt,  though  its  work  has  been  chiefly  in 
the  highlands  and  among  the  islands.  In  1856  the  Scot- 
tish churches  united  in  the  Baptist  Association  of  Scot- 
land, which  was  dissolved  in  1869,  when  the  Baptist 
Union  of  Scotland  took  its  place. 

There  were,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two  Baptist  churches  in  Scotland,  having 
sixteen  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-nine  members. 

We  can  fix  the  beginning  of  Baptist  churches  in  Ire- 
land within  a  few  years.     The  oldest  church  there  was 

^Within  fifteen  years  he   is  known  to   have  given   away   $350,000;   and   it 
is  said  that  during  his  life  he  educated  349  ministers,  at  a  cost  of  $100,000. 


BAPTISTS  IN   THE  GREATER  BRITAIN  2/5 

formed  in  Dublin  by  Thomas  Patience,  assistant  pastor 
to  Kiffen  in  London.  It  claims  the  date  of  1640  for  its 
birth,  but  this  is  obviously  absurd,  since  Kiffen  became 
pastor  of  the  newly  formed  church  in  Devonshire  Square, 
London,  in  that  year.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  church  antedates  the  conquest  of  Ireland  by  Crom- 
well in  1649,  ^""^  i"  f^ct  our  earliest  knowledge  of  such 
a  church  is  1653,  There  are  but  two  other  churches 
now  existing  which  date  back  to  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  but  one  other  that  is  so  old  as  the  closing  decade  of 
the  eighteenth — for  one  hundred  and  forty-three  years 
not  a  single  church  seems  to  have  been  formed,  at  least 
not  one  that  is  now  in  existence.  Comment  is  almost 
needless. 

Baptist  churches  have  ever  found  Ireland  an  uncon- 
genial soil ;  and  after  more  than  two  centuries  of  struggle 
there  are  little  more  than  two  dozen  churches  of  the  faith 
in  the  island.  To  have  produced  the  illustrious  scholar, 
Alexander  Carson,  is  the  chief  contribution  to  Baptist 
progress  of  our  Irish  brethren,  and  one  of  which  a  larger 
body  might  be  proud.  He  was  born  in  County  Tyrone, 
in  1776.  Early  in  life  he  became  a  believer  in  Christ, 
and  later  was  graduated  with  the  first  honor  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Glasgow.  He  became  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian 
church  at  Tubbermore,  Ireland,  and  while  in  that  service 
came  to  see  from  his  study  of  the  original  Scriptures 
that  the  churches  of  the  New  Testament  were  congrega- 
tional, not  presbyterial,  in  polity ;  and  that  they  were 
composed  of  baptized  believers  only.  There  were  few 
Baptist  churches  in  Ireland,  there  was  no  society  to 
which  he  could  appeal  for  support;  of  his  salary  of  one 
hundred  and  forty  pounds  he  received  one  hundred 
pounds  from  the  royal  treasury.  If  he  became  a  Baptist 
he  must  not  only  sever  all  connection  with  old  friends, 
but  risk  starvation.     He  did  what  he  felt  to  be  clearly 


276  A   SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

his  duty,  was  baptized,  and  began  to  preach  to  such  as 
would  listen.  He  soon  gathered  a  church,  and  lived  to 
see  it  grow  to  five  hundred  members,  many  of  whom 
walked  from  seven  to  ten  miles  in  order  to  attend  its 
services. 

Doctor  Carson  was  an  industrious  student,  and  became 
a  great  scholar;  but  for  his  inability  to  sign  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  he  might  have  been  professor  of  Greek  in 
the  University  of  Glasgow.  His  work  on  baptism  was  a 
complete  reply  to  all  the  objections  that  had  been  raised 
by  the  ignorant  and  prejudiced  against  the  teaching 
and  practice  of  Baptists  regarding  this  ordinance  of 
Christ.  Every  contention  of  his  has  since  been  amply 
sustained  by  the  scholarship  of  the  world — not  by  Baptist 
scholarship  alone,  but  by  Pedobaptist. 

There  were  in  Ireland  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth 
century  thirty-one  Baptist  churches,  with  two  thousand 
six  hundred  and  ninety-six  members. 

The  capture  of  Quebec,  in  1759,  marks  the  beginning 
of  Protestant  conquest  in  Canada.  Baptists  were  among 
the  first  to  profit  by  the  new  order  of  things  under  the 
Baptist  rule.  In  the  following  year  Shubael  Dimock 
emigrated  from  Connecticut  and  settled  in  Nova  Scotia. 
He  had  separated  from  the  churches  of  the  Standing 
Order,  and  for  holding  unauthorized  religious  meetings 
had  suffered  both  corporal  punishment  and  imprisonment. 
His  son  Daniel  had  gone  even  further  and  denied  the 
scripturalness  of  infant  baptism.  These  new  settlers  were 
accompanied  by  a  Baptist  minister,  the  Rev.  John  Sutton, 
who  remained  in  the  province  about  a  year,  baptizing 
Daniel  Dimock  and  some  others.  Daniel  Dimock  baptized 
his  father  about  1775,  but  so  far  as  is  known  no  Baptist 
church  was  organized.  A  visit  to  the  province  in  1761 
by  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Moulton,  of  Massachusetts,  is  said 


BAPTISTS   IN   THE   GREATER   BRITAIN  277 

to  have  been  followed  by  conversions  and  baptisms  at 
Yarmouth  and  Horton,  a  church  being  formed  at  the 
latter  place  about  1763,  of  both  Baptists  and  Congrega- 
tionalists.  This  minister  was  the  ancestor  of  Mrs. 
IMcMaster,  the  founder  of  Aloulton  College. 

It  was  in  1763  that  the  first  real  foothold  was  gained 
in  Canada  by  the  Baptists.  Members  of  the  Second 
Church  in  Swansea,  Mass.,  and  of  two  or  three  neigh- 
boring churches,  to  the  number  of  thirteen,  constituted 
a  Baptist  church,  chose  the  Rev.  Nathan  Mason  as  their 
pastor,  and  emigrated  in  a  body  to  Sackville,  then  in 
Nova  Scotia,  but  since  1784  in  the  province  of  New 
Brunswick.  They  remained  for  eight  years,  during  which 
time  their  numbers  had  increased  to  sixty ;  then,  for 
some  reason,  the  original  immigrants  returned  to  Massa- 
chusetts, and  the  church  became  scattered  and  finally 
ceased  to  exist.  A  new  organization  was,  however, 
formed  in  the  same  place  in  1799. 

Up  to  the  year  1775,  therefore,  the  net  progress  of  the 
Baptists  had  been  small ;  there  was  a  handful  of  believers, 
scattered  here  and  there,  but  not  a  single  church  had 
been  able  to  maintain  an  existence.  In  that  year  Henry 
Alline  was  converted  and  became  an  evangelist  of  the 
Whitefield  type,  traveling  up  and  down  Nova  Scotia  and 
preaching  the  gospel  with  great  power.  He  was  a  Con- 
gregationalist,  and  many  of  his  converts  formed  churches 
of  that  order,  but  in  a  number  of  instances  Baptist 
churches  trace  their  origin  to  this  revival  of  religion. 

The  first  of  these  was  constituted  of  ten  members,  Oc- 
tober 29,  1778,  at  Horton,  and  remains  to  this  day  not 
only  the  oldest  but  one  of  the  strongest  churches  in 
the  province.  The  Rev.  Nicholson  Pearson  was  chosen 
pastor,  and  in  the  two  following  years  fifty-two  were 
added  to  the  church.  This  growth  in  numbers,  however, 
was  in  part  accomplished  by  the  adoption  of  open  com- 


278  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

munion  and  mixed  membership.  Congregationalists 
being  admitted  to  full  fellowship  on  equal  terms  with 
baptized  believers.  It  was  not  until  1809  that  the  Horton 
church  became  what  we  understand  by  the  phrase,  a 
Baptist  church.  The  practice  of  mixed  membership,  or 
at  any  rate  of  open  communion,  was  general  among  the 
Baptist  churches  of  this  province  until  the  early  years 
of  the  last  century,  they  having  gradually  felt  their  way 
toward  their  present  position.  The  Horton  church  is 
notable  for  having  had  but  three  pastors  in  the  first 
century  of  its  existence :  Rev.  Nicholas  Pearson,  from 
1778  to  1791  ;  Rev.  Theodore  Seth  Harding,  from  1795 
to  1855,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Stephen  W. 
De  Blois,  who  was  still  pastor  at  the  celebration  of  the 
centenary.  Churches  were  organized  rapidly  between 
1780  and  1800,  including  those  of  Lower  Granville,  Hali- 
fax (1795),  Newport  (1799),  Sackville  (1799),  as  well 
as  Annapolis  and  Upper  Granville,  Chester,  Cornwallis, 
Yarmouth,  and  Digby,  the  dates  of  whose  organizations 
are  unknown.  Of  these  churches  the  First  Halifax  seems 
to  have  been  the  only  one  that  admitted  to  membership 
only  baptized  believers ;  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  even 
that  church  practised  restricted  communion  during  this 
period.  In  this  respect  the  early  history  of  the  Baptists 
of  Canada  differs  widely  from  that  of  the  first  Baptist 
churches  in  the  United  States. 

The  first  Baptists  of  Lower  Canada  seem  to  have  arisen 
among  a  settlement  of  American  Tories,  not  far  from 
the  Vermont  line.  Elders  John  Hebbard  and  Ariel  Ken- 
drick,  missionaries  of  the  Woodstock  Association,  of 
Vermont,  visited  them  in  1794,  and  their  preaching  was 
followed  by  an  extensive  revival.  A  few  years  later. 
Rev.  Elisha  Andrews,  of  Fairfax,  Vt.,  visited  these  people 
at  their  request,  baptized  about  thirty  converts,  and 
organized  the  Eaton  church.    A  number  of  other  churches 


BAPTISTS   IN   THE   GREATER   BRITAIN  279 

were  soon  afterward  formed  in  this  region,  several  of 
which  were  for  a  time  affiUated  with  the  Richmond 
Association,  of  \'ermont.  The  Domestic  Missionary  So- 
ciety of  Massachusetts,  and  other  Hke  New  England  or- 
ganizations, paid  much  attention  to  this  field,  frequently 
sending  missionaries  thither. 

The  beginnings  in  Upper  Canada  seem  to  have  been 
practically  simultaneous,  but  quite  without  concert,  with 
those  in  the  lower  province.  In  1794  Reuben  Crandall, 
at  that  time  a  licentiate,  settled  on  the  northern  shore 
of  Lake  Ontario,  in  what  is  now  Prince  Edward  County, 
and  the  following  year  he  had  gained  converts  enough  to 
organize  the  Hallowell  church.  Of  this  body  there  now 
remains  no  authentic  record,  but  another  church  formed 
at  Haldimund  in  1798  proved  more  permanent,  and  is 
now  in  its  second  century  of  vigorous  life.  Other  min- 
isters from  "  the  States  "  followed,  and  other  churches 
were  gathered  in  like  manner.  About  the  year  1800, 
Titus  Fitch,  another  licentiate,  located  in  Charlotteville 
township,  where  his  labors  resulted  in  the  formation 
of  a  church  of  thirty  members  in  1804.  It  appears  to 
have  been  the  fashion  in  those  days  when  a  young  licen- 
tiate was  not  called  by  a  church,  for  him  to  go  out  in 
the  region  beyond  and  call  a  church — a  fashion  that  may 
be  commended  to  the  rising  ministry  of  our  day  for  their 
imitation. 

It  will  therefore  be  seen  that  the  first  Baptist  churches 
of  Canada,  in  all  its  provinces  alike,  for  the  most  part 
owe  their  origin  either  to  colonies  from  the  United  States 
or  to  the  labors  of  missionaries  from  this  country.  The 
most  marked  exception  is  found  in  the  group  of  churches 
that  compose  the  Ottawa  Association  that,  together  with 
their  pastors,  were  largely  composed  of  Scotch  immi- 
grants, and  trace  their  line  of  descent  as  Baptists  to  the 
labors  in  Edinburgh  of  the  brothers  Haldane,     Baptist 


280  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

growth  was  slow  up  to  1830,  and  has  never  been  rapid 
in  Quebec,  whose  population  is  so  largely  French  and 
Catholic.  It  was  likewise  retarded  unduly  by  various  in- 
ternal disagreements,  chief  of  which  was  the  question  of 
close  or  open  communion.  The  great  majority  of  Ca- 
nadian Baptists  have,  for  a  generation,  belonged  to  the 
Regular  or  strict-communion  wing  of  the  denomination. 

Alexander  Crawford,  a  Scotchman,  and  one  of  the 
Haldane  missionaries,  was  the  first  ( 1814)  to  preach  and 
baptize  according  to  the  New  Testament  order  in  Prince 
Edward's  Island,  and  the  first  churches  adhered  rigidly 
to  the  practice  of  the  Scotch  Baptists.  In  1826  the  first 
church  was  formed  at  Bedeque  that  was  from  the  begin- 
ning associated  with  the  churches  of  the  Maritime  Prov- 
inces, though  most  of  the  others  fell  into  line  eventually. 
The  differences  between  the  churches  of  Scotch  origin 
and  the  other  Baptists  of  the  provinces  were  numerous ; 
the  former  insisted  strenuously  on  a  plural  eldership,  on 
the  weekly  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  es- 
pecially that  members  of  the  church  should  not  marry 
those  who  belonged  to  other  denominations.  A  domestic 
and  foreign  missionary  society  was  formed  in  1845,  and 
the  Island  Baptist  Association  in  1868.  The  latter  or- 
ganization was  especially  useful  in  promoting  denomina- 
tional advance.  From  thirteen  churches  and  six  hundred 
members  it  has  grown  to  twenty-five  churches  and  over 
two  thousand  members. 

The  first  union  of  these  Baptist  churches  was  formed 
in  1800,  at  Granville,  by  ten  churches,  under  the  title  of 
the  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  Baptist  Associa- 
tion. In  one  respect  it  differed  from  other  bodies  of 
this  kind,  though  in  the  main  it  pretended  to  "  no  other 
powers  than  those  of  an  advisory  council " ;  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  it  assumed  the  function  of 
examining  and  ordaining  candidates  for  the  ministry — 


BAPTISTS   IN   THE   GREATER   BRITAIN  281 

the  sole  instance  of  the  kind,  it  is  believed,  in  the 
history  of  Baptists.  In  1809  the  practice  of  open  com- 
munion was  discontinued  by  the  associated  churches.  Four 
churches  withdrew  from  fellowship  with  the  others  for 
a  time,  but  afterwards  returned.  By  182 1  the  growth 
of  this  body  led  to  its  division,  for  greater  convenience, 
into  two  Associations,  one  for  each  province.  The  Nova 
Scotia  Association,  in  turn,  was  divided,  in  1850,  into  the 
Eastern,  Central,  and  Western  Associations.  The  New 
Brunswick  Association,  in  1847,  divided  into  Eastern 
and  Western  Associations ;  a  Southern  Association  was 
organized  in  1850;  and  in  1868  the  Prince  Edward's 
Island  Association  assumed  an  independent  existence. 
These  successive  developments  of  organization  are  land- 
marks of  denominational  growth,  indicating,  better  than 
statistics,  the  progress  of  the  churches  in  numbers  and 
spiritual  efficiency.  At  present  these  Associations  repre- 
sent three  hundred  and  ninety-nine  churches,  with  forty- 
four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-one  members. 

In  Ontario  and  Quebec  the  growth  has  been  equally 
marked.  The  first  organization  of  the  churches  of  Upper 
Canada  was  the  Thurlow  Association  (afterward  the 
Haldimand),  formed  in  1803;  the  Eastern  and  Grand 
River  Associations  followed,  in  1819;  and  others  at  fre- 
quent intervals  thereafter.  In  Quebec  the  progress  was 
slower;  the  earliest  churches,  as  we  have  seen,  remained 
affiliated  with  Vermont  Associations.  It  was  not  until 
1830  that  a  Baptist  church  was  established  in  Montreal, 
and  not  till  1835  that  the  Ottawa  Association  was  formed. 
In  1845,  the  Montreal  was  formed  from  the  Ottawa. 
The  Baptist  churches  of  these  provinces  now  number 
four  hundred  and  thirty,  with  forty  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  members,  and  report  three  thousand 
five  hundred  and  eight  baptisms  for  1900.  In  the 
last  decade  these  churches  have  increased  in  membership 


282  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

twenty-eight  per  cent.,  while  those  of  the  Maritime 
Provinces  in  the  same  period  have  gained  less  than  ten 
per  cent.  If  these  rates  are  maintained  another  decade,  the 
churches  of  Ontario  and  Quebec  will  be  considerably 
stronger,  numerically,  at  least,  than  their  elder  sisters. 

Early  in  their  history  the  Baptists  of  the  Maritime 
Provinces  acknowledged  the  obligations  of  the  Great 
Commission,  and  to  the  best  of  their  power  fulfilled  them. 
A  missionary  society  was  formed  as  early  as  181 5  in 
Nova  Scotia,  and  a  similar  organization  followed  in  New 
Brunswick  in  1820.  Both  of  these  societies  vigorously 
prosecuted  work  at  home  and  abroad  for  many  years. 
In  1846  these  societies  were  consolidated  into  one,  known 
as  "  The  Baptist  Convention  of  the  Alaritime  Provinces." 
Each  Association  in  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and 
Prince  Edward's  Island  is  entitled  to  send  two  delegates 
to  each  meeting  of  this  body,  and  each  contributing 
church  may  send  one  member.  Two  Boards  for  Home 
and  Foreign  Missions  direct  the  Convention's  aggressive 
work,  in  addition  to  which  there  are  Boards  for  Min- 
isterial Education  and  Ministerial  Relief;  while  close  re- 
lations are  maintained  with  Acadia  College  by  .nom- 
inating every  three  years  six  new  members  of  its  Board 
of  governors. 

The  Canada  Baptist  Missionary  Society  was  organized 
in  June,  1837,  through  the  agency  of  the  Ottawa  Asso- 
ciation, and  its  headquarters  were  in  Montreal.  After 
some  years  of  checkered  existence,  it  finally  succumbed 
to  the  stress  of  the  communion  controversies.  In  spite 
of  its  disclaimers,  it  was  suspected  of  being  too  friendly 
to  open  communion,  and  lost  the  support  of  the  strict 
communionists.  The  latter  finally  formed  the  organiza- 
tions in  which  they  could  have  more  confidence :  the 
Western  Canada  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  in  1854, 
and  the  Foreign  Mission  Society  of  Ontario  and  Quebec, 


BAPTISTS  IN   THE   GREATER   BRITAIN  283 

in  1866.  The  latter  was  for  the  first  seven  years  of  its 
life  an  auxiliary  of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary 
Union,  but  since  1873  has  been  independent,  and  main- 
tains a  flourishing  mission  among  the  Telugus.  Home 
mission  work  among  the  Indians  has  been  a  special 
feature  of  the  Canadian  Baptist  missionary  enterprises. 
The  Grand  Ligne  Mission  among  the  French  Catholics, 
founded  in  1835,  was  for  a  time  undenominational  and 
independent,  but  for  more  than  fifty  years  has  been  car- 
ried on  under  Baptist  auspices,  though  Pedobaptists  have 
also,  to  some  extent,  promoted  the  work.  It  is  said  that 
more  than  five  thousand  have  been  brought  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth  through  this  mission,  many  of  whom 
are  unofficial  missionaries  among  their  own  people  in 
Canada  and  New  England. 

In  1888  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  Dominion  Parliament 
consolidating  all  the  previously  existing  societies  (except 
the  Grand  Ligne  Mission),  including  some  not  named 
above,  into  "  The  Baptist  Convention  of  Ontario  and 
Quebec."  Five  Boards — Home  Mission,  Foreign  Mis- 
sion, Ministerial  Superannuation  and  Widows'  and  Or- 
phans', Publication,  Church  Edifice — conduct  the  work 
formerly  done  by  these  various  societies,  and  the  churches 
thus  have  direct  relations  with  a  single  delegated  body, 
which  is  their  agent  in  all  general  denominational  work. 
This  seems  to  be  almost  an  ideal  method  of  organization, 
and  must  be  a  powerful  promotive  of  denominational 
unity  and  efficiency.  Since  1881  Manitoba  and  the 
Northwest  has  had  a  separate  Convention. 

In  1828,  when  the  Baptists  of  Nova  Scotia  had  but 
twenty-nine  churches  and  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-two  members,  they  established  an  academy 
at  Horton;  in  1838  they  established  Acadia  College;  and 
in  1861  a  seminary  for  young  women.  The  three  institu- 
tions are  still  prosperous,  and  have  together  about  three 


284  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

hundred  and  thirty  students.  The  institutions  are 
governed  by  a  Board  of  trustees  appointed  by  the  Con- 
vention of  the  Maritime  Provinces.  The  New  Brunswick 
Baptists  estabUshed  an  academy  at  Frederickton,  which 
ceased  to  exist  some  years  ago ;  it  had  a  successor  at 
St.  Martins,  with  better  prospects  of  permanence  for  a 
time,  but  that  has  also  succumbed.  The  Baptists  of  Que- 
bec were  unfortunate  in  their  sole  educational  venture, 
that  of  establishing  a  college  at  Montreal.  It  was  founded 
in  183S,  and  after  a  few  years  erected  a  fine  stone  building, 
which  proved  too  costly  an  enterprise.  After  struggling 
vainly  with  debts  for  some  years,  in  1849  it  was  found 
necessary  to  sell  the  property,  liquidate  the  debts,  and  let 
the  college  perish.  Many  causes  contributed  to  its 
downfall,  its  location  being  perhaps  the  chief. 

The  Baptists  of  Ontario  have  been  more  fortunate, 
in  part  perhaps  by  reason  of  greater  prudence.  They 
established  a  college  at  Woodstock  about  i860,  with  both 
an  arts  and  a  theological  department.  Many  of  the  most 
useful  ministers  of  the  Dominion,  and  some  in  the  United 
States,  received  their  training  there.  In  1880,  the  liber- 
ality of  the  late  William  McMaster  founded  the  To- 
ronto Baptist  College,  a  theological  seminary  at  first,  to 
which  the  theological  department  of  Woodstock  was 
transferred.  The  new  institution  was  enlarged  later  into 
McMaster  University,  an  arts  department  being  estab- 
lished in  connection  with  the  theological,  and  Woodstock 
being  voluntarily  reduced  to  the  grade  of  an  academy  and 
feeder  of  the  university.  A  college  for  women,  known 
as  Moulton  College,  has  since  been  established  by  INIrs. 
McMaster  {nee  Moulton),  and  is  affiliated  with  the  uni- 
versity. The  result  of  these  new  enterprises  has  been  a 
great  stimulus  of  interest  in  education  among  Canadian 
Baptists.  The  new  century  opened  with  an  enrolment  of 
over  four  hundred  students  in  the  three  institutions.    The 


BAPTISTS  IN  THE  GREATER  BRITAIN  285 

gross  assets  amount  to  about  nine  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  making  available  for  the  three  schools  an  income 
of  about  forty  thousand  dollars. 

But  little  material  is  accessible  for  the  history  of  the 
Baptists  of  Australasia.  Rev.  John  Saunders,  a  Baptist 
minister,  who  had  established  two  churches  in  London, 
became  very  desirous  of  preaching  to  the  convicts  and 
planting  a  Christian  church  at  Botany  Bay.  He  formed 
the  Bathurst  Street  Church,  Sidney,  in  1834.  His  ardu- 
ous labors  finally  broke  his  health,  but  a  worthy  successor 
was  found  in  Rev.  James  Voller,  by  whose  effort  an  As- 
sociation was  formed,  that  in  1891  reports  twenty-six 
churches  and  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-one 
members.  The  Baptist  church  in  Melbourne,  Victoria, 
was  organized  in  1845  ^7  Rev.  William  Ham,  and  the 
cause  has  prospered  continuously.  There  are  now  forty- 
four  churches  and  four  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  members.  In  South  Australia  the  first  Baptist 
church  to  be  established  was  the  Hinders  Street  Chapel 
of  Adelaide,  which  dates  from  1861.  Progress  here  has 
been  hindered  by  an  excess  of  the  spirit  of  independency 
and  too  little  co-operation,  but  there  are  fifty-two  churches 
and  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-five  members. 
The  Wharf  Street  Chapel  in  Moreton  Bay,  Queensland, 
was  built  in  1856,  after  Rev.  B.  G.  Wilson  had  preached 
there  for  several  years,  and  from  this  the  Baptists  of  the 
colony  have  increased  to  twenty-seven  churches  and  two 
thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy  members.  During 
the  past  few  years  there  has  been  a  slight  loss  here. 

From  New  Zealand  are  reported  twenty-eight  churches 
and  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight  mem- 
bers ;  and  besides  the  work  among  the  white  people  a 
mission  is  maintained  among  the  Maoris,  of  whom  there 
are  still  about  fifty  thousand.     The  Baptist  cause  here 


286  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

owes  its  present  prosperity  largely  to  the  labors  of  Rev. 
D.  Dolomore,  who  went  thither  in  1851.  The  first  church 
was  organized  in  1854,  and  from  that  time  growth  was 
steady,  especially  in  the  southern  section.  A  Baptist 
Union  was  formed  about  1880,  which  has  been  a  great 
help  to  the  churches,  especially  in  uniting  them  in  mis- 
sionary efforts.  Work  was  begun  by  the  Baptists  in 
Tasmania  in  1834,  but  there  have  been  meager  results 
here,  in  spite  of  many  years  of  hard  labor,  there  being 
at  present  but  nine  churches  and  five  hundred  and 
seventy-four  members. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

BAPTISTS  IN  THE  COLONIES 

THE  history  of  American  Baptists  naturally  divides 
into  three  periods  or  movements.  The  first  coin- 
cides nearly  with  the  colonial  period  of  our  secular  na- 
tional history.  It  is  marked  by  faithful  witness  to  the 
truth  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  bitter  persecution  on  the 
other.  The  second  period  also  corresponds  with  an  era 
of  secular  history,  the  time  of  territorial  expansion,  and 
is  marked  by  unexampled  growth  and  missionary  activity 
(1776-1845).  The  third  period,  extending  from  about 
the  time  of  the  Mexican  War  to  our  own  day,  may  be 
called  the  period  of  evangelism  and  education.  These 
divisions  are  largely  arbitrary,  of  course,  and  there  are 
no  well-marked  lines  of  division,  the  periods  designated 
overlapping  each  other.  The  division  has,  however,  a 
certain  mnemonic  value ;  and  as  we  proceed  the  character- 
istics attributed  to  each  period  will  be  seen  to  be  justified 
by  the  facts. 

The  historians  of  Puritan  New  England  assert  that 
among  the  early  immigrants  to  their  colony  were  some 
tainted  with  Anabaptism.  One  of  those  suspected  of  this 
offense  was  Hanserd  Knollys.  Of  the  details  of  his  stay 
in  America  little  is  known  save  that  it  was  barely  three 
years.  He  arrived  at  Boston  in  1638,  and  very  soon 
after  became  pastor  of  a  church  at  Piscataway  (now 
Dover),  N.  H.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Knollys  held 
Baptist  views  at  this  time;  as  we  have  already  seen  (p. 
216),  he  was  ordained  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church  in  Lon- 
don (England)  in  1645,  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^''^  circumstances  of  his 

287 


288  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

life  up  to  that  time  compel  the  conclusion  that  he  had  only 
recently  become  a  Baptist.  While  he  was  pastor  at  Piscat- 
away  his  church  was  rent  by  a  dispute  regarding  infant 
baptism  (this  we  know  from  an  Episcopalian  visitor  to 
the  colony  in  April,  1641),  which  warrants  the  conclu- 
sion that  though  there  were  people  of  Baptist  sentiments 
in  the  church  it  was  not  a  Baptist  church.  To  escape 
persecution  the  church  in  large  part  removed  in  1641  to 
Long  Island,  and  thence  to  New  Jersey,  where  they 
formed  a  Baptist  church  (probably  in  1689)  and  gave  to 
it  the  same  name  the  New  Hampshire  colony  had  borne. 
This  is  the  story  of  the  origin  of  the  oldest  Baptist 
church  but  one  (Middletown,  formed  in  1688)  in  New 
Jersey.  If  we  conclude  that  Knollys  and  his  church  were 
not  Baptist,  then  the  first  Baptist  church  organized  in 
America  was  that  of  Providence.  But  before  speaking 
of  that  we  must  consider  the  previous  history  of  its 
founder. 

Much  obscurity  hangs  over  the  early  life  of  Roger 
Williams,  but  he  was  probably  the  son  of  a  merchant 
tailor  of  London,  James  Williams,  and  his  wife  Alice. 
He  was  born  about  1607,  and  Sir  Edward  Coke,  the 
great  English  lawyer,  attracted  by  his  promise,  secured 
for  him  entrance  to  Sutton's  Hospital.  Here  he  completed 
his  preparatory  studies  and  then  entered  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  where  he  took  his  bachelor's  degree  in 
1627.  He  was  offered  several  livings  in  the  Church  of 
England,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  ever  actually 
beneficed.  He  was  apparently  ordained,  since  he  is  de- 
scribed on  his  arrival  at  Boston  as  "  a  godly  minister." 
He  embraced  Puritan  principles,  and  it  is  even  probable 
that  he  was  a  Separatist  in  principle  before  leaving  Eng- 
land. He  determined  to  leave  England,  and  in  1631 
landed  in  Boston,  where  he  hoped  to  find  greater  religious 
freedom.     He  found  the  Puritans  fully  as  intolerant  as 


BAPTISTS    IN    THE    COLONIES  289 

Laud,  and  was  by  no  means  satisfied  with  the  half-way 
reformation  that  they  were  disposed  to  make.  He  saw 
the  inconsistency  of  the  New  England  theocracy,  in  which 
the  functions  of  the  Church  and  State  were  so  inter- 
blended  that  the  identity  of  each  was  in  danger  of  being 
lost.  He  had  grasped  the  principle  that  the  Church  and 
the  State  should  be  entirely  separate  and  independent 
each  of  the  other.  It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  Williams 
had  imbibed  these  notions  from  the  English  Baptists,  or 
that  he  even  knew  of  their  holding  such  doctrines.  At 
this  time  he  was  not,  at  any  rate,  an  Anabaptist.  He 
found  no  fault  with  the  Congregational  doctrine  or  dis- 
cipline, but  denounced  the  principle  of  a  State  Church, 
and  upheld  the  right  of  soul  liberty  on  natural  and 
scriptural  grounds  alike. 

In  spite  of  his  heterodoxy,  Williams  was  called  to  be 
minister  to  the  church  at  Salem,  where  he  was  highly 
esteemed  for  his  zeal  and  eloquence.  The  Salem  church 
had  acted  against  the  will  of  the  Massachusetts  authori- 
ties, and  to  prevent  trouble  Williams  went  for  a  time  to 
Plymouth.  He  returned  to  Salem  as  pastor  again,  but 
was  soon  summoned  before  the  court  in  Boston  and 
condemned  to  banishment.  The  first  (and  no  doubt  the 
chief)  charge  against  him  was,  "That  the  magistrate 
ought  not  to  punish  the  breach  of  the  first  table,  other- 
wise than  in  such  case  as  did  disturb  the  civil  peace." 
This  was  also  stated  in  the  decree  of  banishment  as  the 
chief  cause :  "  Whereas,  Mr.  Roger  Williams,  one  of  the 
elders  of  the  church  of  Salem,  hath  broached  and  di- 
vulged new  and  dangerous  opinions  against  the  author- 
ity of  magistrates."  Nothing  can  be  clearer,  as  a  matter 
of  historical  record,  than  that  the  chief  cause  of  the 
banishment  of  Roger  Williams  was  his  teaching  with 
regard  to  religious  liberty,  that  the  magistrate  has  no 
right  to  punish  breaches  of  the  first  table  of  the  law — 

T 


290  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

those  commandments,  namely,  that  relate  to  the  worship 
of  God. 

After  his  banishment,  Williams  made  his  way,  in  the 
dead  of  winter,  to  Narragansett  Bay.  While  at  Plymouth 
he  had  learned  something  of  the  Indian  dialects,  and  he 
was  kindly  received.  At  what  is  now  Providence  he 
founded  a  settlement,  many  of  his  former  Salem  charge 
removing  to  this  place.  The  original  settlers  in  1638  en- 
tered into  a  compact  reading  thus :  "  We  whose  names  are 
hereunder  written,  being  desirous  to  inhabit  in  the  town 
of  Providence,  do  promise  to  submit  ourselves  in  active 
and  passive  obedience  to  all  such  orders  or  agencies  as 
shall  be  made  for  the  public  good  of  the  body  in  an 
orderly  way,  by  the  major  consent  of  the  present  in- 
habitants, masters  of  families,  incorporated  together  into 
a  township,  and  such  others  whom  they  shall  admit  into 
the  same,  only  in  civil  things."  A  similar  agreement  was 
signed  in  1640;  the  principle  was  embodied  in  the  code 
of  laws  adopted  by  the  colony  in  1647,  ^^^  was  finally  in- 
corporated in  the  royal  charter  given  by  Charles  II.  in 
1663 :  "  Our  royal  will  and  pleasure  is,  that  no  person 
within  the  said  colony,  at  any  time  hereafter,  shall  be 
in  any  wise  molested,  punished,  disquieted,  or  called  in 
question,  for  any  differences  of  opinion  in  matters  of 
religion,  and  do  not  actually  disturb  the  civil  peace  of 
the  said  colony."  Thus  was  founded  the  first  govern- 
ment in  the  world,  whose  corner-stone  was  absolute 
religious  liberty. 

It  is  true  that  a  few  other  countries  had  before  this,  and 
for  periods  more  or  less  brief,  tolerated  what  they  re- 
garded as  heresy;  but  this  was  the  first  government  or- 
ganized on  the  principle  of  absolute  liberty  to  all,  in  such 
matters  of  belief  and  practice  as  did  not  conflict  with  the 
peace  and  order  of  society,  or  with  ordinary  good  morals. 
And  though  this  government  was  insignificant  in  point  of 


BAPTISTS  IN   THE  COLONIES  29I 

numbers  and  power,  it  was  the  pioneer  in  a  great  revo- 
lution, its  principle  having  become  the  fundamental  law 
of  every  American  State,  and  influenced  strongly  even 
the  most  conservative  European  States.  Though  he  did 
not  originate  the  idea  of  soul  liberty,  it  was  given  to 
Roger  Williams,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to  be  its  stand- 
ard-bearer in  a  new  world,  where  it  should  have  full 
opportunity  to  work  itself  out,  and  afford  by  its  fruits 
a  demonstration  that  it  is  of  God  and  not  of  man. 

Up  to  this  time  Williams  was  not  a  Baptist ;  but  his 
continued  studies  of  the  Scriptures  led  him  to  the  belief 
that  the  sprinkling  of  water  on  an  unconscious  babe 
does  not  constitute  obedience  to  the  command  of  our 
Lord,  "  Be  baptized."  Having  arrived  at  this  conviction, 
he  wished  to  be  baptized ;  but  in  this  little  colony,  sep- 
arated from  other  civilized  countries  by  an  ocean  or  a 
wilderness,  where  was  a  qualified  administrator  to  be 
found?  In  the  meantime,  other  converts  to  the  truth  had 
been  made,  whether  by  his  agency  or  by  independent 
study  of  the  word.  They  resolved  to  follow  the  precept 
and  example  of  Christ  in  the  only  way  possible  to  them. 
Some  time  about  March,  1639,  therefore,  Williams  was 
baptized  by  Ezekiel  Holliman,  who  had  been  a  member 
of  his  church  at  Salem ;  and  thereupon  Williams  baptized 
ten  others,  and  the  first  Baptist  church  on  American 
soil  was  formed.  It  is  highly  probable,  though  not  con- 
clusively established,  that  this  baptism  was  an  immersion. 
No  other  baptism  is  known  to  have  been  practised,  in  a 
single  instance,  by  American  Baptists.  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  other  instances  in  the  history  of  x\merican  Baptists 
of  the  formation  of  a  church  after  this  manner — the  con- 
stituent members  either  being  ignorant  that  there  were 
other  Christians  who  agreed  with  them,  or  being  so  far 
distant  from  any  other  Baptists  that  the  procurement  of 
an  administrator  was  out  of  the  question. 


292  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Williams  was,  however,  one  of  the  most  erratic  and 
unstable  men  of  his  time ;  and  a  few  months  later  he  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  this  baptism  by  one  who  had  not 
himself  been  baptized  in  an  orderly  manner  was  not 
valid  baptism.  He  withdrew  himself  from  the  church, 
and  for  the  rest  of  his  life  was  unconnected  with  any 
religious  body,  calling  himself  a  "  seeker."  He  seems 
to  have  been  misled  by  an  idea  that,  if  logically  carried 
out,  would  unchurch  every  church,  by  making  all 
administration  of  ordinances  invalid. 

Whether  the  present  First  Baptist  Church  of  Provi- 
dence is  the  lineal  successor  of  this  church  founded  by 
Roger  Williams  is  a  difficult  historical  question,  about 
which  a  positive  opinion  should  be  expressed  with  diffi- 
dence. Tradition  maintains  that  the  line  of  succession 
has  been  unbroken ;  but  the  records  to  prove  this  are 
lacking.  The  facts  appear  to  be  that  after  the  departure  of 
Williams,  one  of  those  whom  he  had  baptized,  Thomas 
Olney,  became  the  head  of  the  church,  to  which  was 
added  soon  after  a  number  of  new-comers,  chief  among 
which  were  William  Wickendon,  Chad  Brown,  and  Greg- 
ory Dexter.  The  original  members  were  of  Puritan  an- 
tecedents and  Calvinists ;  the  new-comers  appear  to  have 
been  Arminians,  and  inclined  to  make  the  laying  on  of 
hands  after  baptism  an  article  of  faith.  It  has  been 
conjectured  that  the  three  men  named  were  associated 
with  Olney  in  a  plural  eldership,  but  all  these  matters  are 
doubtful  since  the  earliest  records  of  the  Providence 
church  begin  with  the  year  1775,^  and  back  of  that  we 
have  only  tradition  and  conjecture.  All  that  is  certain 
is  that  controversy  began  and  continued  until  it  reached 
the  acute  stage  in  1652,  when  the  church  was  divided. 
A  part,  the  smaller,  apparently,  adhered  to  the  original 
faith  of  the  church,  and   remained  under  the  pastoral 

'Callendar,  "  R.  I.  Hist.  Coll.,"  Vol.  IV.,  p.  117. 


BAPTISTS  IN  THE  COLONIES  293 

care  of  Thomas  Olney.  This  wing  of  the  church  became 
extinct  somewhere  about  1720.  The  larger  part  of  the 
members  adhered  to  Wickendon,  Brown,  and  Dexter,  and 
became  a  Six-principle  church,  remaining  such  until  a 
comparatively  late  time.  In  177 1,  through  the  influence 
of  President  James  Manning,  the  majority  adopted  a 
Calvinistic  creed,  whereupon  the  Six-principle  minority 
seceded.  Both  these  branches  still  survive,  the  former 
now  bearing  the  title  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Providence. 

There  is  another  church  that  disputes  with  this  the 
honor  of  being  the  oldest  Baptist  church  in  America. 
Its  founder.  Dr.  John  Clarke,  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting characters  of  his  time,  but  his  early  history  is 
much  involved  in  dispute  and  obscurity;  the  true  date  of 
his  birth  even  is  unknown.  According  to  one  authority, 
perhaps  the  best,  he  was  born  in  Suffolk,  England,  Oc- 
tober 8,  1609.  We  know  that  he  was  a  scholar  in  his 
manhood,  with  a  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Hebrew  such 
as  men  seldom  gained  in  England  outside  of  the  uni- 
versities; but  which  university  he  attended,  and  what  de- 
gree he  took,  are  facts  not  as  yet  discovered  by  investi- 
gation. An  extant  legal  document  bearing  date  of  March 
12,  1656,  is  almost  the  only  relic  of  his  life  in  England; 
in  that  he  describes  himself  as  a  physician  of  London. 
There  seems  no  room  for  doubt  that  he  was  of  the  Puri- 
tan party,  and  that  he  left  England  to  escape  persecution 
and  enjoy  the  greater  freedom  of  the  new  world. 

When  he  reached  Boston,  in  November,  1637,  it  must 
have  seemed  to  him  that  he  had  truly  jumped  from  the 
frying-pan  into  the  fire.  There  had  been  trouble  among 
the  Puritans  there,  and  Sir  Henry  Vane  and  others  had 
been  deprived  of  their  arms  and  ordered  to  leave  the 
colony.  Clarke  became  the  leader  of  certain  of  these  in 
establishing   a    colony    elsewhere.      A    constitution    was 


294  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

drawn  up  and  signed  in  March,  1638,  which  made  the 
law  of  Christ  the  law  of  this  new  community.  An  ex- 
periment was  made  in  New  Hampshire,  but  the  climate 
was  thought  too  cold,  and  a  location  was  sought  farther 
south.  This  led  to  the  purchase  from  the  Indians  of  the 
island  of  Aquidneck,  which  was  renamed  Rhode  Island. 
Two  settlements  were  formed,  the  northern  one  called 
Portsmouth  and  the  southern  Newport.  The  original 
code  of  laws  has  not  been  preserved,  but  in  1641  it  was 
"  Ordered  that  none  be  accounted  a  delinquent  for  doc- 
trine, provided  that  it  be  not  directly  repugnant  to  the 
government  or  laws  established."  The  Providence  com- 
pact limiting  the  authority  of  the  magistrate  to  civil  things 
was  made  in  1639,  and  is  the  older  instrument,  but 
Newport  divides  with  Providence  the  honor  of  first 
establishing  this  principle  in  civil  government. 

In  the  same  year  in  which  the  colony  was  founded,  a 
church  was  organized  in  Newport,  and  Mr.  Clarke  became 
its  teaching  elder,  apparently  from  the  first.  What  sort 
of  a  church  this  was  we  do  not  positively  know.^  There 
is  no  evidence  at  present  known  to  exist  by  which  the 
religious  opinions  and  practices  of  Clarke  up  to  this  time 
may  be  determined.  He  may  have  been  imbued  with 
Baptist  doctrine  before  coming  to  America,  but  there  is 
nothing  in  his  conduct  inconsistent  with  the  theory  that 
he  came  here  simply  a  Puritan  Separatist,  like  Roger 
Williams.  Our  first  definite  knowledge  of  this  church 
comes  from  the  report  made  in  March,  1640,  by  the 
commissioners  from  the  church  in  Boston.  Of  the  faults 
they  allege,  Anabaptism  is  not  one,  whence  it  seems  a 
safe  conclusion  that  at  this  time  this  was  not  a  Baptist 
church.  When  and  how  it  became  such  we  do  not  know. 
The  date  1644  is  purely  traditional,  and  the  first  positive 

lA  majority  had  been  members  of  Cotton's  church  in  Boston.     Winthrop's 
Journal  shows  that  from  September,  1638,  Clarke  was  their  preacher. 


BAPTISTS  IN   THE  COLONIES  295 

knowledge  we  have  is  October,  1648,  when  we  know  ^ 
that  a  Baptist  church  existed  in  Newport,  having  fifteen 
members.  In  1654  or  1656  a  controversy  arose  in  this 
church,  as  in  that  in  Providence,  and  with  a  hke  result — 
a  Six-principle  church  was  constituted,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  William  Vaughn,  who  had  previously  received 
the  rite  of  laying  on  of  hands  from  Wickendon  and 
Dexter  at  Providence. 

Doctor  Clarke  retained  his  connection  with  the  church 
he  founded  until  his  death,  though  much  of  his  time 
was  absorbed  by  public  duties.  In  the  autumn  of  1651 
he  was  sent  by  the  colonists  to  England,  to  obtain  a  new 
and  better  charter.  He  remained  there  twelve  years, 
finding  it  impossible  to  gain  his  end  during  the  Pro- 
tectorate. Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  printed  his  "  111 
News  from  New  England,"  which  shares  with  Roger 
Williams'  "  Bloody  Tenet  of  Persecution,"  the  praise  of 
advocating  liberty  of  conscience  at  a  time  when  that  doc- 
trine was  decried  even  by  those  who  called  themselves 
friends  of  liberty.  Finally,  what  he  could  not  procure 
from  the  Cromwells  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  from 
Charles  II.,  who  on  July  9,  1663,  set  his  hand  to  a  charter 
that  secured  civil  and  religious  liberty  to  the  colony  of 
Rhode  Island — a  charter  under  which  the  State  was 
governed  until  the  year  1843. 

Returning  to  Newport  in  1664,  Clarke  became  one  of 
the  chief  citizens  of  the  colony.  He  was  deputy  gov- 
ernor in  1669,  and  again  in  1671,  having  declined  the 
office  in  1670.  Soon  after  he  retired  to  private  life,  and 
died  suddenly  April  20,  1676.  His  services  to  his  State, 
and  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  were  quite  as  great  as  those 
of  the  better  known  Williams.  But  for  him  the  charter 
of  1663  would  never  have  been  obtained ;  and  there  is 
good  reason  to  infer,  from  internal  evidence,  that  a  good 

iCallendar,   "  R.   I.   Hist.   Coll.,"   IV.,   117. 


296  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

part  of  that  instrument  was  drawn  by  him.  He  was  the 
most  eminent  Baptist  of  his  time  in  New  England,  and 
his  name  deserves  to  be  held  in  the  highest  honor. 

The  formation  of  Baptist  churches  in  Massachusetts 
was  greatly  impeded  by  the  resolute  opposition  of  the 
colonial  authorities.     A  theocratic  government  had  been 
established,  in  which  all  rights  of  citizenship  were  denied 
to  those  who  were  not  members  of  the  churches  of  the 
Standing  Order.^     From  the  first  there  were  individuals 
who  came  into  collision  with  this  government,  by  reason 
of  their  Anabaptist  convictions.     These  the  magistrates 
j  proceeded  to  deal  with  sharply.     In  1644 '  one  Thomas 
J  Painter,  of  Hingham,  refused  to  have  his  child  baptized, 
and  stoutly  protested  against  such  a  ceremony  as  "  an 
anti-Christian  ordinance,"  whereupon  he  was  tied  up  and 
whipped.     In  the  same  year,  and  for  several  years  fol- 
lowing, there  are  records  of  several  presentments  to  the 
,  Salem  court  of  men  who  withheld  their  children  from 
I  baptism  or  argued  against  infant  baptism.     These  men 
were  proceeded  against  on  general  principles,   without 
authority  of  law,  but  in  November,   1644,  the  General 
Court  enacted  a  statute  that  whoever  "  shall  either  openly 
t  condemn  or  oppose  the  baptizing  of  infants,  or  go  about 
I  secretly  to  seduce  others  from  the  approbation  or  use 
j  thereof,   or  shall  purposely   depart  the  congregation   at 
I  the   ministration   of   the   ordinances,   or   shall    deny   the 
'.  ordinance  of  magistracy,  or  their  lawful  right  and  au- 
!  thority  to  make  war,  or  to  punish  the  outward  breaches 
i  of  the  first  table,  and  shall  appear  to  the  court  wilfully 
I  and  obstinately  to  continue  therein  after  due  time  and 
[  means  of  conviction,  every  such  person  or  persons  shall 
be  sentenced  to  banishment." 


1  Order   of   the   General   Court,   quoted  by   Wood,    "History   of   the   First 
aptist   Church   of   Bos 

2  Backus  (Vol.  I.,  p.  i 
at  Weymouth  in  1639. 


"^Baptist   Church   of   Boston,"   p.    6. 

I        2  Bacjjus  (Vol.  I.,  p.  93)  shows  there  was  an  attempt  to  organize  a  church 

ai 

"V 


BAPTISTS  IN  THE  COLONIES  297 

The  most  prominent  among  the  violators  of  this  law 
was  Henry  Dunster.  A  native  of  Lancashire  (born  about 
1612),  he  was  educated  at  Magdalen  College,  Cambridge, 
where  he  took  his  bachelor's  degree  in  1630  and  the 
master's  in  1634.  He  probably  took  orders  in  the  Church 
of  England,  but  his  advancement  was  made  impossible 
by  his  adoption  of  Separatist  ideas,  and  he  decided  to 
seek  a  career  in  the  new  world.  He  arrived  at  Boston 
toward  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1640,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  chosen,  almost  by  acclamation,  to 
be  the  president  of  the  new  college  established  by  the 
Massachusetts  colony.  For  this  post  his  learning,  his 
piety,  and  his  skill  in  affairs  combined  to  make  him 
an  ideal  occupant,  and  for  twelve  years  he  discharged 
the  duties  connected  with  his  important  office  with 
universal  satisfaction  and  applause. 

In  the  year  1653  the  birth  of  a  fourth  child  brought 
to  an  issue  doubts  that  he  appears  to  have  entertained 
for  some  time  regarding  infant  baptism.  He  now  defi- 
nitely made  known  his  conviction  that  only  believers 
should  be  baptized,  and  set  forth  his  reasons  in  several 
sermons.  Great  excitement  was  at  once  provoked  by 
this  procedure  of  Dunster's,  and  no  wonder.  The  denial 
of  infant  baptism  was  a  blow  at  the  very  foundations  of 
the  Puritan  theory  of  Church  and  State,  and  Dunster 
had  become  a  dangerous  enemy  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Either  he  must  be  suppressed  or  the  whole  social  fabric 
of  Massachusetts  must  be  remodeled.  We  need  not  be 
surprised  that  the  former  alternative  was  chosen.  Dun- 
ster was  virtually  compelled  to  resign  the  presidency  of 
the  college,  but  it  is  possible  that  no  further  proceedings 
would  have  been  taken  against  him  save  for  his  own  in- 
discretion. He  insisted  on  being  heard  during  a  service 
of  the  Cambridge  church,  and  set  forth  his  views  at 
length.      For   the   offense   of   thus    disturbing   worship, 


298  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

he  was  indicted,  tried,  and  condemned  to  receive  an 
admonition  from  the  General  Court.  He  was  also  pre- 
sented for  refusal  to  have  his  child  baptized,  and  required 
to  give  surety  for  his  further  appearance  in  court  at 
Boston,  in  September,  1657.  No  record  of  further  pro- 
ceedings against  him  remains,  and  his  death  in  1659 
removed  him  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts. 

What  he  thus  escaped  may  perhaps  be  inferred  from 
the  treatment  of  John  Clarke,  the  founder  of  the  New- 
port church,  and  Obadiah  Holmes,  who  was  destined  to 
be  Clarke's  successor.  While  they  were  spending  the 
Lord's  Day  with  a  brother  who  lived  near  Lynn,  it  was 
concluded  to  have  religious  services  in  the  house.  Two 
constables  broke  in  while  Mr.  Clarke  was  preaching  from 
Rev.  3  :  10,  and  the  men  were  haled  before  the  court. 
For  this  offense  they  were  sentenced  to  pay,  Clarke  a 
fine  of  twenty  pounds,  and  Holmes  one  of  thirty  pounds, 
in  default  of  which  they  were  to  be  *'  well  whipped."  A 
friend  paid  Clarke's  fine,  and  he  was  set  at  liberty  whether 
he  would  or  no;  but  on  September  6,  1651,  Holmes  was 
"  whipped  unmercifully  "  (the  phrase  is  Bancroft's)  in 
the  streets  of  Boston,  for  the  atrocious  crime  of  preaching 
the  gospel  and  of  adding  thereto  the  denial  of  infant 
baptism. 

These  repressive  measures  were  quite  unavailing ;  Ana- 
baptist sentiments  continued  to  increase  among  the  Puri- 
tans, and  in  addition,  immigrants  began  to  come  who 
had  been  Baptists  in  the  old  country.  John  Myles,  who, 
as  we  have  seen,  was  the  founder  of  the  first  Baptist 
church  in  Wales,  was  one  of  the  victims  of  the  Act  of 
Uniformity,  and  soon  after  it  went  into  effect  he  and 
a  number  of  the  members  of  the  Ilston  church  came  to 
the  new  world  and  at  first  settled  at  Rehoboth.  Here,  in 
1663,  they  organized  a   Baptist  church,   which   was,   in 


BAPTISTS  IN   THE  COLONIES  299 

1667,  removed  to  a  new  settlement,  named  Swansea,  in 
memory  of  the  city  near  which  they  had  dwelt  in  Wales. 
This  church,  the  first  formed  in  the  Massachusetts  col- 
ony, has  had  an  uninterrupted  existence  to  this  day.  As 
became  its  origin,  it  was  a  strongly  Calvinistic  body,  but  a 
second  Swansea  church  was  formed  in  1685  that  was 
as  strongly  Arminian. 

The  time  was  now  ripe  for  an  organized  protest  against 
the  errors  of  the  Puritan  churches,  by  the  formation  of 
a  Baptist  church  in  Boston  itself.  The  leader  of  this  enter- 
prise was  Thomas  Goold,  or  Gould,  a  friend  of  Presi- 
dent Dunster,  a  resident  of  Charlestown.  Influenced,  no 
doubt,  by  his  friend's  teaching  and  example,  Goold  re- 
fused, in  1655,  to  present  an  infant  child  for  baptism,  and 
was  duly  admonished  therefor  by  the  Charlestown  elders. 
A  course  of  warning,  expostulation,  and  discipline  con- 
tinuing for  ten  years  so  far  failed  to  convince  Thomas 
Goold  of  his  error,  that  on  May  28,  1665,  a  Baptist 
church  was  organized  in  his  house,  where  meetings  of 
Baptists  had  been  held  more  or  less  regularly  for  sev- 
eral years.  A  storm  of  persecution  at  once  broke  upon 
this  little  band  of  nine,  of  whom  two  were  women.  The 
Swansea  church,  being  situated  on  the  borders  of  Rhode 
Island,  was  comparatively  undisturbed ;  not  so  the  church 
in  Boston.  At  the  time  of  its  organization  the  Puritan 
churches  were  torn  by  the  dissensions  that  finally  re- 
sulted in  the  adoption  of  the  Half-way  Covenant;  but,  as 
in  all  family  quarrels,  both  parties  to  the  contest  were 
ready  to  pounce  upon  any  intruder.  Such  they  consid- 
ered this  new  Baptist  church  to  be,  and  a  determined 
effort  was  made  to  suppress  it.  Shortly  after  its  organi- 
zation the  members  were  summoned  before  the  court  and 
ordered  to  "  desist  from  such  theire  meeting,  &  irre- 
ligious practises,  as  they  would  Answer  the  contrary  at 
theire  peril." 


300  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

They  were  not  the  desisting  kind,  however,  and  per- 
sisted in  teaching  their  "  damnable  errors,"  and  holding 
meetings,  whereupon  nearly  all  of  them  were  at  one  time 
or  another,  and  several  more  than  once,  imprisoned  or 
fined,  or  both.  Thomas  Goold,  who  had  become  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church,  was  the  severest  sufferer,  though 
he  had  several  companions ;  and  his  health  was  so  broken 
by  his  frequent  and  long  imprisonments  that  he  died  in 
October,  1675.  In  1670  he  removed  to  Noddle's  Island, 
and  the  church  met  in  his  house  there,  coming  from 
Boston,  Woburn,  and  other  places  for  the  purpose. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1678  the  church  began 
to  build  a  meeting-house  in  Boston,  on  what  is  now  Salem 
Street,  a  modest  frame  building,  on  ground  owned  by 
two  of  the  members.  This  was  indeed  flying  in  the  face 
of  the  Puritan  State,  and  by  order  of  the  General  Court 
the  marshal  nailed  up  the  doors  and  posted  the  following 
notice  upon  them : 

All  Psons  are  to  take  notice  yt  by  orde  of  ye  Court  ye  dores 
of  this  howse  are  shutt  up  &  yt  they  are  Inhibitted  to  hold 
any  meeting  therein  or  to  open  ye  dores  thereof,  without  lishence 
from  Authority,  till  ye  gennerall  Court  take  further  order  as  they 
will  answer  ye  Contrary  att  theire  p'ill,  dated  in  boston  8th 
march  1680,  by  orde  of  ye  Councell 

Edward  Rawson  Secretary. 

This  was,  however,  the  last  serious  persecution  of  the 
church.  The  court  did  not  venture  to  enforce  its  order 
beyond  a  single  Sunday ;  on  the  following  Lord's  Day  the 
doors  were  found  open,  and  there  was  no  further  inter- 
ference with  the  worship  of  the  church.  Before  1671, 
while  the  persecution  was  at  its  height,  twenty-two 
(including  eight  women)  had  united  with  the  church. 
After  persecution  ceased  the  growth  was  naturally  still 
more  rapid.    Much  indignation  had  been  caused,  both  in 


\ 


BAPTISTS  IN  THE  COLONIES  3OI 

the  colony  itself  and  in  England,  by  the  Puritan  persecu- 
tions of  Baptists  and  Quakers — the  latter  suffering  even 
more  than  Baptists,  some  even  to  death — and  there  was 
great  danger  that  the  charter  would  be  lost.  This,  in 
fact,  befell  a  few  years  later.  The  Puritan  theory  had 
broken  down — a  theocracy  had  been  proved  an  impossible 
form  of  government  in  New  England.  In  1691  a  new 
charter  was  given  by  William  and  Mary ;  Plymouth  and 
Massachusetts  Bay  were  consolidated  into  the  one  col- 
ony of  Massachusetts,  and  the  charter  assured  "  liberty 
of  conscience  to  all  Christians,  except  Papists."  Baptists 
were  henceforth  exempt  from  persecution,  but  not  from 
taxation  to  support  a  State  church. 

For  a  long  time  the  growth  of  Baptists  in  New  Eng- 
land continued  to  be  slow.  The  next  church  to  be  es- 
tablished was  that  at  Kittery,  Me.,  the  Province  of  Maine 
then  being  part  of  the  Massachusetts  colony.  Two  set- 
tlers at  that  place,  William  Screven  and  Humphrey 
Churchwood,  came  to  hold  Baptist  views,  made  their  way 
to  Boston,  and  were  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
church  on  June  21,  1681.  Mr.  Screven  was  licensed  to 
preach,  and  on  his  return  to  Kittery,  organized  a  church. 
He  was  imprisoned  and  fined  ten  pounds  by  the  provin- 
cial authorities  for  pronouncing  infant  baptism  "  no  or- 
dinance of  God,  but  an  invention  of  men."  Finding  that 
there  was  no  prospect  of  their  being  permitted  to  serve 
God  in  peace,  the  little  church  of  seventeen  made  prep- 
arations for  removal.  They  settled  near  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  reorganizing  in 
1684,  established  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  that  town. 
Not  for  more  than  fourscore  years  was  another  attempt 
made  to  plant  a  Baptist  church  in  Maine. 

Aside  from  a  church  formed  among  the  Indians  at 
Chilmark,  in  Martha's  Vineyard  (1693),  these  were  the 
only  Calvinistic  Baptist  churches  formed  in  New  Eng- 


302  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

land  during  the  seventeenth  century.^  There  were,  how- 
ever, two  churches  of  the  Arminian  or  Six-principle 
order  in  Rhode  Island — the  North  Kingston  (1665),  and 
the  Tiverton  (1685).  There  was  also  a  Seventh-day 
church  in  Newport  that  had  been  founded  in  167 1.  In 
all,  therefore,  there  were  ten  small  churches,  with  prob- 
ably not  more  than  three  hundred  members,  in  the  year 
1700. 

The  only  direction  in  which  any  considerable  progress 
was  made  for  about  half  a  century  was  in  Connecticut. 
There  some  Baptists,  probably  removed  from  Rhode 
Island,  were  found  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  a 
church  was  organized  in  1705,  at  Groton,  of  which  Val- 
entine Wightman  became  the  pastor.  This  was  a  Six- 
principle  church.  But  the  churches  formed  at  New  Lon- 
don (1710),  Wallingford  (1731),  Southington  (1738), 
and  North  Stonington  (1743)  were  either  Calvinistic 
churches  from  the  beginning  or  soon  became  such.^ 

This  slow  progress  is  by  no  means  surprising.  The 
atmosphere  of  New  England  was  not  favorable  to  spirit- 
ual vigor  in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
the  policy  pursued  toward  Baptists  there  had  prevented 
immigrants  of  that  faith  from  turning  their  faces  in  that 
direction. 

In  the  Middle  States  the  conditions  of  growth  were, 
on  the  whole,  more  favorable.  The  only  persecution  ex- 
perienced was  in  the  colony  of  New  York,  and  that  was 
for  a  brief  time  under  the  governorship  of  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant.  Misled  by  the  liberal  promises  of  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company  a  number  of  Baptists  had  settled  on 

*  There  were  but  eight,  all  told,  in  Massachusetts  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Great  Awakening   (1740). 

^  How  Connecticut  felt  toward  Baptists  may  be  seen  from  this  early- 
statute:  "  Nor  shall  any  persons  neglect  the  public  worship  of  God  in 
some  lawful  Congregation,  and  form  themselves  into  separate  companies  in 
private  Houses,  on  Penalty  of  Ten  Shillings  for  every  such  Offense  each 
person  shall  be  guilty  of."     ("  Colony  Law   Book,"  p.    139.) 


BAPTISTS  IN  THE  COLONIES  3O3 

Long  Island,  in  what  are  now  Gravesend  and  Flushing. 
One  of  the  most  prominent  was  John  Bowne,  who  had 
come  to  this  country  from  England  in  1635,  first  settling 
at  Salem,  Alass.  He  may  not  have  been  a  Baptist  at 
this  time,  but  he  was  a  dissenter  both  from  the  Church  of 
England  and  the  Established  Church  of  Massachusetts. 
He  offended  the  Dutch  authorities  by  his  tenderness 
towards  the  "  abominable  people  called  Quakers,"  who 
were  then  being  punished  in  New  Amsterdam  with  little 
less  severity  than  was  shown  in  New  England.  Bowne 
was  arrested  and  fined  for  giving  aid  and  shelter  to  these 
people,  and  on  his  refusal  to  pay  his  fine,  he  was  banished 
and  sent  by  ship  to  Holland. 

He  at  once  appealed  to  the  directors  of  the  company, 
and  they  promptly  condemned  their  agent.  The  Dutch 
were  too  hearty  lovers  of  religious  liberty,  and  had  ex- 
perienced too  much  of  the  horrors  of  the  Inquisition,  to 
play  for  any  length  of  time  the  role  of  persecutors.  The 
choleric  and  tyrannical  Peter  soon  received  orders  from 
Holland :  "  Let  every  man  remain  free,  so  long  as  he  is 
modest,  moderate,  his  political  conduct  irreproachable, 
and  so  long  as  he  does  not  offend  others  or  oppose  the 
government."  But  before  the  policy  could  be  thus  changed. 
Baptists  had  suffered  considerably,  and  later  under  the 
English  rule  the  same  difficulty  was  experienced.  The 
first  Baptist  minister  to  labor  in  New  York  City,  so  far 
as  is  known,  was  Rev.  William  Wickendon,  of  Provi- 
dence, in  1656;  and  for  these  labors  he  was  heavily  fined, 
but  after  an  imprisonment  of  some  months,  being  too  poor 
to  pay  the  fine,  he  was  released  and  banished  from  the 
colony.  Whether  he  had  succeeded  in  gathering  a  church 
is  uncertain,  but  if  he  did,  it  was  soon  scattered  by  per- 
secution, for  an  ordinance  of  1662  imposed  a  severe  fine 
on  anybody  who  should  even  be  present  at  an  illegal 
conventicle. 


304  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

The  next  trace  of  Baptists  in  this  colony  is  at  Oyster 
Bay,  L.  I.,  where  one  William  Rhodes,  a  Baptist  minister 
from  Rhode  Island,  began  to  preach  and  baptize  con- 
verts about  1700.  By  1724  a  church  had  been  organized, 
and  Robert  Feeks  was  ordained  pastor.  Before  this, 
however,  a  Baptist  church  had  been  organized  in  New 
York,  where  Rev.  Valentine  Wightman  began  to  preach 
about  171 1.  One  of  his  converts  was  Nicholas  Eyres,  a 
wealthy  brewer,  in  whose  house  the  meetings  were  held. 
He  was  baptized  in  17 14,  a  church  was  formed,  and  Eyres 
soon  became  its  pastor,  at  the  same  time  continuing  in 
business.  In  spite  of  some  persecutions  and  many  dis- 
couragements, they  continued  to  flourish  until  internal 
dissensions  wrecked  them,  and  not  long  after  1730  the 
church  became  extinct. 

The  most  important  and  influential  of  the  early  Baptist 
centers  was  the  group  of  churches  in  the  vicinity  of 
Philadelphia.  In  1684  Thomas  Dungan  gathered  a 
church  at  Cold  Spring,  Pa.,  but  it  became  extinct  about 
1702.  In  1688  the  church  at  Pennepeck  (Lower  Dublin) 
was  organized.  This  church,  of  twelve  members  at  the 
beginning,  had  as  its  first  pastor  Elias  Keach,  son  of  the 
well-known  Baptist  minister  of  London,  Benjamin  Keach. 
The  First  Church  of  Philadelphia  was  founded  in  the 
following  year,  but  its  members  were  connected  wi-th 
the  Lower  Dublin  Church  until  1746,  when  they  were 
formally  constituted  a  separate  and  independent  church. 
The  Welsh  Tract  Church  was  constituted  in  1701. 

The  liberal  offers  of  complete  religious  liberty  in  New 
Jersey  drew  Baptists  to  that  colony  as  early  as  1660. 
The  first  church  organized  was  that  at  Middletown  in 
1688,  composed  mainly  of  those  who  had  fled  from  per- 
secution in  New  York  and  other  colonies.  Piscataway 
(1689),  Cohansey  (1690),  Cape  May  (1712),  and  Hope- 
well  (1715),  were  the  next  to  follow.     Congregations 


BAPTISTS  IN  THE  COLONIES  305 

were  also  gathered  at  Salem,  Burlington,  Scotch  Plains, 
and  other  places,  that  in  later  years  were  constituted 
separate  churches. 

The  nucleus  of  each  of  these  churches,  so  far  as  their 
history  is  known,  appears  to  have  been  a  few  men  and 
women  who  had  been  Baptists  before  coming  to  this 
country.  Others  had  held  Baptist  beliefs  for  some 
years,  but  had  never  before  connected  themselves  with 
a  Baptist  church,  possibly  for  lack  of  opportunity  in 
their  old  homes.  The  major  part  of  these  people  were 
English;  in  and  about  Philadelphia  there  were  many 
Welsh  Baptists ;  a  few  came  from  Ireland.  The  affilia- 
tions of  American  Baptists  are  thus  directly  with  our 
brethren  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  the  fashion  in  some 
quarters  to  call  the  church  founded  by  Roger  Williams 
"  the  venerable  mother  of  American  Baptist  churches." 
She  is  then  that  anomaly  in  the  world,  a  mother  who 
never  bore  children,  for  no  church  now  existing  can  be 
shown  to  have  been  established  by  her  labors  prior  to 
1800,  if  thereafter.  The  part  played  by  Roger  Williams 
and  his  church  in  the  history  of  American  Baptists  is 
ludicrously  small,  when  the  facts  are  cornpared  to  the 
ink  that  has  been  shed  on  the  subject. 

All  these  churches  last  described  were  in  intimate  fel- 
lowship, the  Philadelphia  group  being  by  common  con- 
sent the  center  of  interest.  For  their  mutual  convenience 
and  edification,  almost  from  their  origin,  a  custom  grew 
up  of  holding  "  general  meetings  "  from  time  to  time  for 
the  ministry  of  the  word  and  the  gospel  ordinances. 
From  being  held  once  a  year,  these  meetings  came  to  be 
semi-annual,  in  the  months  of  May  and  September. 
These  were  for  many  years  what  their  name  implied — 
general  meetings — ^being  attended  by  as  many  as  could 
make  it  convenient,  and  were  wholly  devotional  and 
evangelistic.  In  1707  the  meeting  was  for  the  first  time 
u 


306  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

a  delegated  body,  five  churches  appointing  delegates,  and 
this  is  the  beginning  of  the  Philadelphia  Association. 
From  the  first  the  New  Jersey  churches  were  members, 
and  as  the  body  increased  in  age  and  strength  it  at- 
tracted to  itself  all  the  Baptist  churches  within  traveling 
distance  of  it,  having  as  members  churches  in  southern 
New  York  and  Virginia.  Its  adoption  of  a  strongly  Cal- 
vinistic  Confession  in  1742  (or  possibly  earlier)  was  a 
turning-point  in  the  history  of  American  Baptists,  as  it 
ensured  the  prevalence  of  that  type  of  theology.  Up  to 
this  time  the  Arminian  Baptists  had  been  the  stronger 
in  New  England,  and  the  colonies  of  New  York  and 
New  Jersey,  and  it  was  at  one  time  probable  that  they 
would  control  the  development  of  the  denomination.  It 
was  the  Philadelphia  Association  that  turned  the  tide,  and 
decided  the  course  of  American  Baptist  history.  The 
Association  speedily  became  the  leading  body  among 
American  Baptists — a  position  it  has  not  wholly  lost  to 
this  day.  Pretty  much  everything  good  in  our  history, 
from  1700  to  1850,  may  be  traced  to  its  initiative  or  active 
co-operation. 

During  this  early  period  little  progress  was  made  in 
the  founding  of  Baptist  churches  in  the  South.  The 
story  of  the  origin  of  the  First  Church  of  Charleston 
has  already  been  told.  In  1733  a  schism  in  this  church 
caused  the  organization  of  a  General  Baptist  church — 
the  original  body  being  Calvinistic — and  in  1736  a  church 
was  formed  at  Ashley  River,  which,  while  a  symptom  of 
growth,  still  further  depleted  the  strength  of  the  mother 
church.  In  1737  some  members  of  the  Welsh  Tract 
church  went  southward  and  established  the  Welsh  Neck 
church.  Here,  then,  was  a  promising  little  group  of 
churches  in  one  Southern  colony. 

The  only  other  region  where  promise  of  growth  had 
been   manifest   was   in  Virginia.     There   were  probably 


BAPTISTS  IN  THE  COLONIES  307 

some  Baptists,  certainly  some  people  opposed  to  the  bap- 
tism of  infants,  early  in  the  history  of  the  colony,  for 
as  early  as  1661  the  Assembly  provided  that  a  fine  of 
two  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  should  be  imposed  on 
parents  who  refused  to  have  their  children  baptized. 
By  1 7 14  there  had  come  to  be  a  number  of  this  persua- 
sion in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State,  probably  Eng- 
lish immigrants  and  probably  General  Baptists  in  their 
old  home,  since  they  appealed  to  this  body  in  England 
for  help.  Two  ministers  were  sent  out  to  them  from 
England,  one  of  whom  lived  to  reach  the  colony  and 
founded  a  church  at  Burleigh.  Another  church  is  known 
to  have  existed  before  1729  in  Surrey  County. 

In  the  neighboring  colony  of  North  Carolina,  a  church 
was  formed  by  Rev.  Paul  Palmer  in  1727,  consisting  of 
thirty-two  members,  at  a  place  called  Perquimans,  in 
Chowan  County. 

In  all,  therefore,  there  were  forty-seven  Baptist 
churches,  of  which  we  have  certain  knowledge,  before 
the  Great  Awakening,  of  which  all  but  seven  were  north 
of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE    PERIOD    OF    EXPANSION 

DURING  the  first  century  of  their  history,  American 
Baptists  did  not  escape  the  effect  of  that  spirit 
of  worldHness  which  nearly  paralyzed  the  churches  of 
the  Standing  Order.  They  were  firm  in  adherence  to 
the  true  scriptural  principle  that  the  church  should  be 
composed  of  the  regenerate  only,  but  they  lived  in  com- 
munities where  it  was  hard  even  to  get  a  hearing  for 
this  idea.  The  New  England  community  was  a  the- 
ocracy, and  the  privileges  of  citizenship  were  enjoyed 
only  by  those  who  were  members  of  the  church.  The 
theory  of  iinperiiim  and  sacerdotiuni  was  not  more  firmly 
insisted  on,  and  not  half  so  consistently  followed,  in 
the  relations  between  the  medieval  Church  and  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  as  in  the  connection  of  Church  and 
State  in  New  England.  They  were  like  the  obverse  and 
reverse  of  a  coin,  two  aspects  of  one  indivisible  entity. 
The  certain  result  of  such  a  polity  in  modern  Christianity, 
as  in  ancient  Judaism,  must  be  to  corrupt  the  spiritual 
body — to  destroy  all  distinction  between  regenerate  and 
unregenerate. 

The  adoption  of  the  Half-way  Covenant,  in  1662,  was 
at  once  the  natural  result  and  an  aggravation  of  the 
state  of  things  that  had  come  to  pass.  This  covenant 
provided  that  those  baptized  in  infancy  were  to  be  re- 
garded as  members  of  the  church  to  which  their  parents 
belonged,  although  not  to  be  admitted  to  the  communion 
without  evidence  of  regeneration.  Such  persons  were 
allowed  to  offer  their  children  for  baptism,  provided  they 
308 


THE    PERIOD    OF   EXPANSION  3O9 

publicly  professed  assent  to  the  doctrine  of  faith,  and 
were  not  scandalous  in  life.  It  was  not  long  before  min- 
isters declared  that  sanctification  was  not  a  qualification 
for  the  Lord's  Supper,  but  saw  in  it  a  converting  ordi- 
nance and  a  means  of  regeneration.  Consequently,  per- 
sons who  had  been  baptized  in  infancy,  and  were  not 
charged  with  scandalous  conduct  or  heresy,  were 
regarded  as  entitled  to  full  communion  with  the  church. 

Against  this  worldly  condition  of  the  church  a  reac- 
tion was  certain  to  come.  It  manifested  itself  in  the  Great 
Awakening  that  began  at  Northampton,  in  1734,  under 
the  preaching  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  gradually  ex- 
tended throughout  the  towns  of  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut. The  visit  of  Whitefield  to  this  country,  in  1739, 
gave  a  new  impulse  to  this  revival  of  true  religion,  ex- 
tending it  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  New  England.  With 
this  second  revival  began  a  new  era  in  the  spiritual  life 
of  American  Christians.  The  leaven  did  not  spread 
without  opposition,  and  among  Baptists  two  parties  were 
formed — the  "  Regulars,"  who  adhered  to  the  old  ways 
and  disparaged  revivals,  and  the  "  New  Lights,"  or 
"  Separates,"  who  adopted  the  methods  of  Whitefield. 
The  literature  of  the  times  is  full  of  this  controversy,  and 
shows  that  the  newer  and  more  scriptural  method  of 
preaching  did  not  win  its  way  to  its  present  general 
acceptance  without  bitter  opposition. 

Nevertheless,  from  this  time  the  growth  of  Baptists 
became  rapid.  In  Massachusetts,  for  example,  there  had 
been  only  eight  Baptist  churches  organized  before  the 
Great  Awakening;  between  1740  and  1775,  when  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  began,  twenty-seven  new  churches  had 
been  formed,  and  in  1784  the  total  num.ber  had  increased 
to  seventy-three,  with  a  membership  of  three  thousand 
and  seventy-three.  Extension  to  the  regions  beyond  was 
also  begun. 


3IO  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

The  most  active  agent  in  this  new  advance  was  Heze- 
kiah  Smith.  He  was  born  on  Long  Island,  in  the  town 
of  Hempstead,  in  1737,  but  while  he  was  still  young  his 
parents  removed  to  Morris  County,  N.  J.  Rev.  John 
Gano,  at  that  time  pastor  of  the  church  at  Morristown, 
preached  at  several  stations  near-by,  and  relates  the  fol- 
lowing :  "At  one  of  these  places  there  was  a  happy  instance 
of  a  promising  youth  (by  name  Hezekiah  Smith),  who 
professed  to  be  converted,  and  joined  the  church — who 
appeared  to  have  an  inclination  for  education,  to  which 
his  parents  objected.  His  eldest  brother  joined  me  in 
soliciting  his  father,  who  finally  consented  to  his  receiv- 
ing an  education."  Young  Smith  became  a  pupil  at  the 
Hopewell  Academy,  the  first  educational  institution  es- 
tablished among  American  Baptists,  of  which  Rev.  Isaac 
Eaton  was  principal.  He  then  went  to  Princeton 
College,  where  he  took  his  bachelor's  degree  in  1762. 

Directly  after  graduation  he  made  an  evangelistic  tour 
through  the  Southern  States — possibly  with  something 
of  a  young  man's  desire  to  see  the  world,  but  still  more 
to  try  and  improve  his  gifts  in  preaching.  During  this 
fifteen  months  he  traveled  on  horseback  four  thousand 
two  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles,  and  preached  one 
hundred  and  seventy-three  sermons.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  he  was  not  idly  traveling  for  pleasure.  He  returned 
North  to  find  that  the  Philadelphia  Association  had  re- 
solved to  found  an  institution  of  higher  learning;  and 
had  selected  Rhode  Island  as  the  most  eligible  location 
for  a  college,  and  James  Manning,  Smith's  classmate  at 
Princeton,  as  the  head  of  the  new  institution.  Smith 
threw  himself  into  this  project  with  all  the  enthusiasm 
and  energy  of  his  nature,  and  he  was  energetic  and  en- 
thusiastic beyond  most  men,  while  cool-headed  and  ju- 
dicious at  the  same  time.  He  was  successful  in  winning 
the  support  of  many  who  might  otherwise   have  held 


THE    PERIOD    OF    EXPANSION  3 II 

aloof,  and  was  at  all  times  the  right-hand  man  of 
President  Manning  in  his  laborious  and  difficult  task. 

Smith  had  been  ordained  to  the  ministry  at  Charles- 
ton, during  his  Southern  tour,  but  had  accepted  no  pas- 
toral charge  there,  and  for  some  years  he  held  none  in 
the  North.  He  rather  itinerated  among  the  churches  of 
New  England,  preaching  with  much  acceptance  wherever 
he  went.  During  his  journeys  he  visited  the  town  of 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  the  pulpit  of  the  Congregational 
church  being  vacant,  he  was  asked  to  preach.  He  re- 
mained some  weeks,  and  the  people  would  gladly  have 
had  him  for  their  pastor,  but  he  was  too  stanch  a  Bap- 
tist for  that.  After  he  left,  he  was  solicited  to  return  by 
people  in  the  town,  and  when  he  did  so  a  Baptist  church 
was  organized,  of  which  he  was  recognized  as  pastor 
in  1766.  It  was  the  only  pastorate  of  his  life,  and  at 
his  death,  in  1805,  the  church  had  become  o-ne  of  the 
strongest  in  New  England,  and  is  now  the  oldest 
surviving  Baptist  church  north  of  Boston. 

He  was  more  than  the  faithful  pastor  of  this  church; 
he  was  a  missionary  to  the  regions  beyond.  At  that  time 
there  was  a  great  religious  destitution  in  the  newer  towns 
of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  and  the  few  Baptists  scat- 
tered here  and  there  were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 
Up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  Mr.  Smith  made 
many  horseback  tours  through  these  regions,  preaching 
the  gospel  and  gathering  converts ;  and  it  is  said  that  at 
least  thirteen  of  the  churches  organized  in  those  States 
owed  their  existence  to  his  labors  and  counsels.  In  his 
later  years,  as  well  as  his  strength  permitted,  he  was 
equally  earnest  and  effective  as  an  evangelist.  At  this 
time  there  were  no  missionary  organizations  among  Bap- 
tists, and  what  evangelizing  was  done  was  carried  on  in 
this  independent  way.  Hezekiah  Smith  was  a  whole 
State  mission  society  in  himself,  and  doubtless  his  labors 


312  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

had  no  little  to  do  with  the  organizing  of  the  first  society 
of  that  kind,  the  Massachusetts  Baptist  Missionary  So- 
ciety. He  was  one  of  the  most  active  agents  in  forming 
this  organization  two  years  before  his  death. 

We  have  still  to  consider  one  of  the  most  honorable 
episodes  in  Mr.  Smith's  history.  On  the  outbreak  of 
the  Revolution,  he  offered  his  services  and  was  appointed 
brigade-chaplain,  with  the  pay  and  rations  of  a  colonel. 
Six  of  the  twenty-one  brigade-chaplains  in  the  service 
are  known  to  have  been  Baptists ;  and  we  have  it  on  the 
authority  of  Washington  himself  that  Baptists  were 
"  throughout  America,  uniformly  and  almost  unani- 
mously, the  firm  friends  to  civil  liberty,  and  the  perse- 
vering promoters  of  our  glorious  Revolution."  Mr. 
Smith  was  in  service  with  the  army  of  Gates  during  the 
Burgoyne  campaign,  and  was  afterward  stationed  at 
various  points  along  the  Hudson  with  the  army  of  Wash- 
ington. He  gained  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  gen- 
eral, as  is  abundantly  shown  by  the  fact  that  Washington 
corresponded  with  him  after  the  war.  He  was  not  a 
fighting  chaplain,  but  he  repeatedly  exposed  his  life  in 
order  to  give  help  and  consolation  to  the  wounded  and 
dying.  His  service  in  keeping  up  the  morale  of  the  army 
was  equal  to  that  of  any  officer,  and  was  so  esteemed 
by  all  military  authorities. 

Returning  to  Haverhill  and  resuming  his  pastoral  du- 
ties, revivals  followed  in  the  community  that  increased 
the  membership  of  the  church  to  nearly  two  hundred. 
There  were  then  but  three  larger  churches  in  New  Eng- 
land. No  preacher  was  in  more  demand  for  services  of 
all  kinds,  and  none  was  more  influential  in  denominational 
councils.  Mr.  Smith  took  a  leading  part  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Warren  Association,  the  first  union  of  Bap- 
tist churches  in  New  England,  in  the  rehabilitation  of 
the  Rhode  Island  College  (soon  to  be  known  as  Brown 


THE    PERIOD    OF    EXPANSION  313 

University),  and  all  other  denominational  enterprises.  He 
was  cut  off  by  paralysis  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness, 
having  preached  with  unusual  power  on  the  preceding 
Sunday,  leaving  behind  him  the  memory  of  a  man  who 
had  been  faithful  in  all  things,  stainless  in  character,  and 
foremost  in  all  good  works. 

Though  there  had  been  churches  formed  earlier  in 
New  Hampshire  (Newton,  in  1750,  and  Medbury,  in 
1768),  they  had  proved  short-lived,  and  Hezekiah  Smith 
established  the  first  enduring  organization  in  1771  at 
Brentwood.  Other  churches  sprang  up  rapidly,  and  by 
1784  there  were  twenty-five  churches  and  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  members.  The  church  at  Ber- 
wick, Me.,  was  organized  in  July,  1768,  of  members 
whom  Mr.  Smith  had  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of 
his  church  at  Haverhill,  and  who  had  been  dismissed  to 
form  the  new  body. 

The  earliest  churches  in  Vermont  seem  to  have  owed 
their  origin  in  part  to  people  from  the  other  New  Eng- 
land colonies,  and  in  part  to  people  from  New  York. 
The  oldest  church  now  existing  is  Wallingford,  formed 
February  10,  1780.  An  older  church,  the  Shaftesbury 
(1768),  was  disbanded  in  1844.  By  the  close  of  the  cen- 
tury there  were  thirty-two  churches  and  the  membership 
had  reached  one  thousand  six  hundred.  In  1784,  the 
entire  strength  of  New  England  Baptists  was  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-one  churches  and  four  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  eighty-three  members.  Of  course,  these 
figures  are  only  approximate,  though  as  to  the  number 
of  churches  they  are  probably  very  nearly  accurate. 

The  Revolution  interrupted  for  a  time  the  rapid  prog- 
ress that  Baptists  began  to  make  after  the  Great  Awaken- 
ing. The  results  were  most  disastrous,  as  might  be 
expected,  where  the  British  occupation  was  longest — in 
and  about   New   York   and   Philadelphia,   and   through 


314  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

"  the  Jerseys."  The  Baptists  as  a  whole  were  patriots, 
and  many  of  their  preachers  served  as  chaplains  with 
the  American  troops,  as  the  work  in  their  churches  could 
not  be  carried  on  with  regularity.  There  was,  however, 
one  noted  exception :  Scholarly,  laborious,  warm-hearted, 
eccentric,  choleric  Alorgan  Edwards,  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting of  the  early  Baptist  ministers  of  our  country 
and  one  of  those  most  deserving  of  honor.  His  very 
faults  had  a  leaning  toward  virtue's  side,  and  in  good 
works  he  was  exceeded  by  none  of  his  day,  if  indeed 
by  any  of  any  day. 

Edwards  was  born  in  Wales  in  1722,  and  received  his 
training  for  the  ministry  at  the  Baptist  college  at  Bristol, 
England,  after  which  he  began  to  preach  at  Boston, 
Lincolnshire.  Seven  years  he  ministered  to  a  little  flock 
there,  and  then  went  to  Cork,  Ireland,  where  he  was  or- 
dained in  1757.  He  remained  there  nine  years,  and  then 
returned  to  England.  While  preaching  there  the  Baptist 
church  in  Philadelphia  sent  to  their  English  brethren  a 
request  for  a  pastor.  By  advice  of  his  brethren,  Morgan 
Edwards  responded  to  this  appeal,  made  the  voyage  to 
America,  visited  the  Philadelphia  church,  and  became  its 
pastor  for  nine  years  (1761-1770).  He  was  an  able 
preacher  and  a  good  man,  but  not  always  an  easy  man 
to  get  on  with.  He  had  a  trait  characteristic  of  Welsh 
people  (and  some  others),  which  they  call  firmness  and 
others  sometimes  call  obstinacy,  and-  at  various  stages 
of  his  career  this  trait  got  him  into  trouble  with  people 
who  were  also  "  firm." 

Before  he  had  been  in  the  country  much  more  than 
a  year,  Morgan  Edwards  induced  the  Philadelphia  As- 
sociation to  do  one  of  the  things  that  most  honor  its 
history.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  found- 
ing of  Rhode  Island  College  and  the  work  of  Manning 
and    Smith   in   connection    with   that   enterprise.       The 


I 


THE    PERIOD    OF    EXPANSION  315 

pioneer  in  the  movement  was  Edwards.  He  saw  at  once 
on  his  arrival  that  the  weakness  of  American  Baptists 
was  their  deficiency  in  educational  advantages.  They 
would  not  have  been  reduced  to  send  to  England  for 
him  if  they  had  had  schools  of  their  own.  Others 
agreed  with  him ;  and  when  he  proposed  the  founding  of 
a  college,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  Association 
in  1762,  his  resolution  was  carried  without  difficulty.  He 
took  hold  of  the  project  with  his  usual  ardor,  and  the 
success  of  the  project  was  no  less  due  to  him  than  to 
Manning  and  Smith.  He  was  most  influential  of  the 
three  in  enlisting  the  sympathies  of  Baptists  generally 
in  favor  of  the  college  and  obtaining  funds  for  its  endow- 
ment. He  made  a  voyage  to  England  for  the  purpose 
and  brought  back  a  large  sum  of  money.  He  interested 
his  Welsh  Baptist  brethren  especially,  and  one  of  them, 
Doctor  Richards,  bequeathed  to  the  college  his  library  of 
one  thousand  three  hundred  volumes.  Brown  University 
has  to-day,  in  consequence,  probably  the  finest  collection 
of  books  in  the  Welsh  language  to  be  found  in  America. 
Moreover,  Edwards  traveled  all  over  the  States,  through 
many  years,  preaching  and  collecting  for  the  college. 

These  labors  were  interrupted  by  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, and  thereby  hangs  a  tale  that  is  to  us  amusing 
but  was  most  vexatious  to  his  contemporaries.  You  have 
to  get  at  some  distance  from  things  sometimes  to  see 
their  funny  side,  and  this  is  one  of  those  cases.  Edwards, 
it  will  be  remembered,  had  not  been  "  caught  young  " ; 
he  was  nearly  forty  when  he  came  to  this  country,  and 
the  troubles  that  led  to  the  Revolution  were  already 
begun.  He  had  not  been  here  long  enough  to  be  really 
Americanized  when  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill  gave  the 
signal  for  a  general  rebellion  against  King  George  and 
his  tyranny,  and  his  sympathies  were  naturally  with  the 
country  and  flag  of  his  birth  rather  than  with  the  land 


3l6  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

of  his  late  adoption.  He  was  almost,  if  not  quite,  the 
only  Tory  among  the  Baptist  clergy  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  so  found  himself  isolated  among  his  brethren. 
Not  only  so,  but  as  he  did  not  hesitate  to  express  his 
sentiments  with  his  usual  freedom  and  vigor,  he  soon 
found  himself  the  object  of  suspicion,  not  to  say  hostility. 
Finally  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  took  the  matter  up 
with  vigor  on  their  side,  and  others  joined  them;  and 
Edwards  was  finally  persuaded  or  intimidated  into  sign- 
ing a  ''  retraction,"  in  which  he  admitted  that  he  had 
spoken  unadvisedly,  asked  the  forgiveness  of  the  public, 
and  promised  to  avoid  like  offense  in  future.  The  prom- 
ise is  said  to. have  been  ill  kept,  however;  the  Welsh  fire 
would  break  out  from  time  to  time  in  spite  of  all  promises 
or  efforts  to  repress  it. 

Such  loyalty  to  king  and  country  did  honor  to  the 
heart,  if  not  to  the  head,  of  Edwards ;  and  after  the  in- 
dependence of  the  colonies  was  achieved,  he  seems  to 
have  seen  a  great  light  and  became  as  loyal  to  the  new 
country  as  he  had  been  to  the  old.  He  then  resumed 
his  journey ings  and  labors,  continuing  them  until  his 
death  in  1795. 

These  journeyings  had  another  object  besides  preach- 
ing the  gospel  and  collecting  funds  for  Rhode  Island 
College.  Edwards  was  a  born  antiquarian,  and  soon 
after  coming  to  this  country  began  to  collect  memorials 
of  the  past,  especially  facts  relating  to  Baptist  history. 
In  his  goings  up  and  down  the  land — he  visited  pretty 
nearly  every  one  of  the  thirteen  colonies — he  made  re- 
searches among  contemporary  records  and  gathered  up 
facts  from  living  men  who  recollected  Baptist  beginnings, 
and  little  by  little  collected  his  Materials  toward  a  History 
of  the  Baptists.  Two  volumes  were  printed  during  his 
lifetime,  and  slight  portions  have  been  printed  since ;  but 
a  large  part  still  remains  in  MS. 


THE   PERIOD   OF   EXPANSION  3 17 

The  first  Calvinistic  Baptist  church  in  the  colony  of 
New  York  was  formed  about  1740,  at  Fishkill,  Dutchess 
County,  and  from  1753  a  small  company  of  Baptists  held 
meetings  in  a  private  house.  Not  strong  enough  to 
form  a  church,  they  became  members  of  the  church  at 
Scotch  Plains,  N.  J.,  and  were  not  constituted  a  separate 
church  until  1762.  By  this  time  they  had  become  twenty- 
seven  in  number,  had  built  themselves  a  small  house  of^ 
worship  in  Gold  Street,  and  had  called  the  Rev.  John 
Gano  to  be  their  pastor.  Other  churches  were  formed 
in  the  Dutchess  region  and  its  vicinity,  to  the  number  of 
ten  in  all,  prior  to  1780.  From  this  time  onward  prog- 
ress was  quite  rapid  in  the  eastern  and  central  counties 
of  the  State.  For  a  time  most  of  these  churches  sought 
and  obtained  membership  in  the  Philadelphia  Association, 
and  it  was  not  until  ^1791  that  they  felt  themselves  strong 
enough  to  form  an  Association  of  their  own. 

In  the  Southern  colonies,  while  progress  was  greatly 
interrupted  by  the  Revolution,  there  was  less  actual  dis- 
integration of  the  churches,  since  most  of  these  were  in 
more  rural  communities  and  were  less  affected  by  the 
fortunes  of  war.  After  the  conclusion  of  peace,  more- 
over, the  most  rapid  growth  of  Baptists  was  in  this 
region.  Along  the  Atlantic  coast  as  far  as  Charleston, 
many  Baptist  churches  were  founded  by  missionaries  of 
the  Philadelphia  Association,  and  were  for  a  time  mem- 
bers of  that  body.  Four  churches  thus  constituted — 
Opekon  (1743,  reconstituted  in  1752),  Ketokton  (1751), 
Smith's  Creek  (1756),  Broad  Run  (1762) — formed  the 
Ketokton  Association  in  1766,  with  the  full  approval  of 
the  mother  body.  A  year  earlier  the  Kehukee  Associa- 
tion had  been  organized  by  several  General  Baptist 
churches  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  but  they  soon 
adopted  a  modified  form  of  the  Calvinistic  faith. 

In    1754  a  company  of  settlers   from   New   England 


3l8  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF  THE    BAPTISTS 

settled  in  Virginia  and  began  to  propagate  their  views 
with  vigor  and  great  success.  They  were  "  New  Lights," 
or  adherents  of  Whitefield  and  his  evangehstic  methods. 
Prominent  among  them  were  two  preachers  of  unusual 
gifts,  Shubael  Stearns  and  Daniel  Marshall.  The  churches 
founded  by  them  became  known  as  Separate  Baptists, 
and  they  grew  like  Jonah's  gourd.  The  earliest  of  all, 
the  Sandy  Creek  Church,  in  seventeen  years  was  instru- 
mental in  establishing  forty-two  others,  from  which  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  preachers  were  sent  forth. 
Others  were  only  less  prolific ;  no  wonder  then  that  Bap- 
tists increased  greatly  in  the  Southern  States.  Their 
growth  was  much  promoted  by  the  healing  of  their  di- 
visions in  1787,  Regulars  and  Separates  uniting,  on  the 
basis  of  the  Philadelphia  Confession,  to  form  "  the 
United  Baptist  Churches  of  Christ  in  Virginia." 

We  can  no  longer  trace  the  history  of  churches ;  we 
can  only  mark  the  progress  of  the  body  now  by  the 
formation  of  new  groups  of  churches  into  Associations ; 
and  soon  these  too  became  too  numerous  to  be  followed 
in  detail.  The  Philadelphia,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the 
venerable  mother  of  all  such  bodies,  but  her  first  four 
daughters  were  born  in  the  South — the  Charleston 
(1751),  Sandy  Creek  (1758),  Kehukee  (1765),  and  Ke- 
tokton  (1766).^  The  New  England  Associations  began 
with  the  Warren  (1767),  followed  by  the  Stonington 
-(1772),  and  Shaftesbury  (1780).  The  formation  of  As- 
sociations went  rapidly  on,  until  by  1800  there  were  forty- 
eight,  of  which  thirty  were  in  the  Southern  States,  and 
eight  beyond  the  Alleghenies — six  of  these  last  being  in 
Kentucky." 

1  This  is  leaving  out  of  account  a  "  yearly  meeting  "  of  the  Arminian 
Baptists  of  New  England,  begun  previous  to  1729,  and  afterwards 
developing   into  an   Association. 

-  At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  American  Baptists  numbered  less 
than   10,000,  but  even  approximate  figures  are  lacking.     In   1792,  according 


THE   PiERIOD   OF   EXPANSION  319 

If  the  figures  given  below  are  substantially  accurate, 
and  for  good  reasons  they  are  believed  to  be,  the  period 
of  greatest  actual  and  relative  advance  among  American 
Baptists  was  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Several  causes  contributed  to  this  result,  chief  among 
them  being  the  granting  of  religious  liberty  in  all  the 
States,  the  missionary  activity  of  the  pioneer  preachers, 
and  the  harmony  between  the  democratic  spirit  of  the 
people  and  the  congregational  polity  of  the  Baptist 
churches.  Though  subsequent  growth  has  not  reached 
these  unexampled  figures,  it  has  continually  exceeded  the 
rate  at  which  population  increases,  and  that  in  spite  of 
the  immense  influx  of  foreign  peoples,  on  many  of  whom 
Baptists  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  making  any  perceptible 
impression. 

With  the  attainment  of  civil  liberty  came  a  spirit  that 
made  men  see  in  religious  persecution  the  tyranny  and 
shame  that  it  was.  Mrginia  led  the  way,  as  became  the 
colony  that  first  made  persecuting  laws,  and  had  equaled 
all  others  in  the  bitterness  of  her  intolerance,  if  indeed  she 
had  not  surpassed  all.  In  1629  the  Assembly  forbade 
any  minister  lacking  Episcopal  ordination  to  officiate  in 
the  colony,  and  this  rule  was  enforced  by  severe  pen- 
alties up  to  the  Revolution.  Baptists  were  also  taxed 
for  the  support  of  the  Episcopal  Church  and  their  prop- 
erty was  seized  and  sold  to  pay  such  taxes.  At  length, 
however,  they  found  champions  in  such  men  as  Thomas 
Jefiferson  and  Patrick  Henry;  the  latter,  though  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Established  Church,  being  too  genuine  a  lover 
of  liberty  to  have  any  part  in   persecution.     The   first 

to  Dr.  Rufus  Babcock,  there  were  471  churches,  424  ministers,  and  35,101 
members.  By  1800  they  had  increased  to  an  estimated  number  of  100,000. 
In  1850  the  numbers  had  risen  to  815,212,  of  whom  686,807  were  "  Regu- 
lar "  Baptists.  In  other  words,  in  1776  Baptists  were  about  i  to  264  of 
the  population;  in  1800  they  were  i  to  53,  and  in  1850  they  had  become 
I   in  29. 


320  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

patriot  legislature,  which  met  in  1776,  repealed  the  penal 
laws,  and  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  clergy  were  re- 
pealed in  1779.  It  was  not  until  January,  1786,  that  the 
legislature  passed  an  "  Act  for  establishing  religious  free- 
dom," drawn  by  Jefferson  and  powerfully  advocated  by 
James  Madison. 

The  other  States  more  or  less  rapidly  followed  the 
lead  of  Virginia.  The  spirit  of  intolerance  lingered  long- 
est in  New  England,  and  it  was  not  until  1833  that  the 
last  remnant  of  proscriptive  laws  was  swept  from  the 
statute  book  of  Massachusetts.  And  even  so  good  and 
wise  and  great  a  man  as  Lyman  Beecher  thought  the 
bottom  had  dropped  out  of  things  when  his  State  (Con- 
necticut) no  longer  compelled  his  unwilling  Baptist 
neighbor  to  contribute  to  his  support. 

The  disabilities  removed,  the  Baptist  churches  grew 
apace.  The  secret  of  this  growth  was  incessant  evan- 
gelization. There  were  no  missionary  societies,  national. 
State,  or  even  local.  Some  of  the  Associations  did  a 
work  of  this  kind.  Thus,  soon  after  the  organization  of 
the  Sovith  Carolina  Association,  they  sent  North  for  a 
missionary  preacher,  and  secured  the  Rev.  John  Gano. 
afterward  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Nev/ 
York,  and  a  man  of  note  in  his  day.  His  labors  in  the 
interior  of  the  State  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  sev- 
eral churches  and  the  organization  of  the  Congaree  As- 
sociation. But  for  the  most  part  this  evangelization 
was  the  work  of  men  who  were  not  sent  forth,  but  went 
forth  to  preach  in  obedience  to  a  divine  call.  Many  Bap- 
tist preachers  spent  at  least  a  part  of  their  lives,  if  not 
the  whole  of  them,  as  itinerant  preachers ;  and  to  their 
labors  was  due  the  growth  of  Baptist  churches  in  the 
closing  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

As  the  population  extended  over  the  Alleghenies  into 
the  new  regions  of  the  great  West,  the  missionary  zeal 


THE    PERIOD   OF    EXPANSION  321 

of  the  churches  kept  step  with  the  colonizing  enterprise 
of  the  people.  Without  societies  or  other  means  of  or- 
ganizing their  scanty  resources  of  men  and  money,  they 
pushed  out  boldly  into  the  regions  beyond.  Many  Bap- 
tists from  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  were  among  the 
first  settlers  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and  in  the  lat- 
ter State  their  churches  were  organized  as  early  as  1765. 
By  1790  there  were  eighteen  churches  and  eight  hundred 
and  eighty-nine  members  in  the  State.  In  1782,  Baptist 
churches  were  formed  in  Kentucky ;  and  in  1790  there 
were  forty-two  churches  and  three  thousand  and  ninety- 
five  members.  Baptists  were  among  the  first  to  enter 
Ohio  as  settlers  and  religious  workers,  a  church  having 
been  organized  at  Columbia  (five  miles  above  Cincinnati) 
in  1790,^  and  the  Miami  Association  being  formed  by 
four  churches  in  1797.  In  Illinois,  Baptists  from  Virginia 
were  the  first  Protestants  to  enter  and  possess  the  land, 
a  number  settling  there  not  later  than  1786.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  a  Kentucky  pastor  preached  there,  but  the 
first  church  was  not  formed  until  May,  1796,  at  New 
Design,  St.  Clair  County.  The  first  sermon  on  the  site 
of  what  is  now  the  great  city  of  Chicago  was  preached 
October  5,  1825,  by  the  Rev.  Isaac  McCoy,  then  a  Baptist 
missionary  to  the  Indians  of  Michigan. 

Many  men  of  God  went  forth  into  this  wilderness  not 
knowing  where  they  should  find  a  night's  lodging  or  their 
next  meal,  willing  to  sufifer  untold  privations  if  they 
might  only  point  some  to  the  Lamb  of  God.  It  is  im- 
possible to  estimate  too  highly  or  to  praise  too  warmly 
the  services  of  these  men  of  strong  faith  and  good  works. 
Their  hardships  were  such  as  we  of  the  present  day  can 
hardly  imagine.  They  traveled  from  little  settlement  to 
settlement  on  horseback,   with  no  road  save  an  Indian 

1  This  church  changed  its  place  of  worship  in   1808,  and  was  thencefortb^ 
known  as  the   Duck  Creek   Church. 
V 


322  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

trail  or  blazed  trees,  fording  streams  over  which  no 
bridges  had  been  built,  exposed  to  storms,  frequently 
sleeping  where  night  found  them,  often  prostrated  by 
fevers  or  wasted  by  malaria,  but  indomitable  still.  If 
they  did  not  wander  "  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins,"  like 
ancient  heroes  of  faith,  they  wore  deerskins ;  and  home- 
spun took  the  place  of  sackcloth.  Their  dwelling  was 
"  all  out  o'  doors."  Living  in  the  plainest  manner,  shar- 
ing all  the  hardships  of  a  pioneer  people,  the  circuit 
preacher  labored  in  a  parish  that,  as  one  of  them  said, 
"  took  in  one-half  of  creation,  for  it  had  no  boundary 
on  the  west."  One  of  them  writes  in  1805:  "  Every  day 
I  travel  I  have  to  swim  through  creeks  or  swamps,  and 
I  am  wet  from  head  to  feet,  and  some  days  from  morn- 
ing to  night  I  am  dripping  with  water.  ,  .  I  have  rheu- 
matism in  all  my  joints.  .  .  What  I  have  suffered  in 
body  and  mind  my  pen  is  not  able  to  communicate  to 
you.  But  this  I  can  say :  While  my  body  is  wet  with 
water  and  chilled  with  cold  my  soul  is  filled  with  heavenly 
fire,  and  I  can  say  with  St.  Paul :  '  But  none  of  these 
things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself, 
so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy.'  " 

In  general,  the  preacher  was  kindly  received,  often 
with  tears  of  joy.  The  people  who  were  running  a  neck- 
and-neck  race  with  death  by  starvation  or  freezing  had 
not  much  to  give  the  itinerant  minister.  Even  to  offer 
him  food  and  shelter  meant  sacrifice,  but  in  nearly  every 
case  he  was  welcome  to  his  share  of  whatever  comforts 
the  pioneer  family  possessed.  In  the  wilderness,  like 
Paul,  he  passed  through  perils  many — perils  by  the  way, 
perils  from  savage  beasts,  perils  from  the  savage  In- 
dians, perils  from  godless  and  degraded  men  hardly  less 
savage  than  either  beast  or  Indian.  But  God,  who  closed 
the  mouths  of  the  lions,  was  with  his  servant,  the  pioneer 
preacher.     Many  died  prematurely  of  privation  and  dis- 


John  M.   Vvj 


THE   PERIOD   OF    EXPANSION  323 

ease  in  this  hard  life,  but  there  is  no  record  of  one  who 
died  of  violence. 

The  houses  of  worship  in  which  these  preachers  held 
their  services  were  generally  God's  own  temples — the 
woods  and  prairies.  Their  libraries  consisted  of  a  Bible 
and  a  hymn-book,  carried  in  their  saddle-bags.  They 
did  not  read  polished  essays  from  a  manuscript,  as  their 
degenerate  successors  so  often  do.  The  rough  back- 
woodsman had  no  use,  as  he  phrased  it,  "  for  a  preacher 
who  couldn't  shoot  without  a  rest."  The  preaching  was 
of  a  rough-and-ready  sort,  not  always  scrupulous  of  the 
king's  English,  strongly  tinged  with  the  good,  old 
doctrines  of  grace — eminently  evangelistic,  to  use  our 
modern  phrase,  and  was  richly  blessed  of  God  to  the  con- 
version of  their  hearers.  These  men,  uncouth  as  they 
would  seem  now,  unwelcome  as  they  would  be  to  the 
pulpit  of  any  fashionable  Baptist  church  in  our  cities, 
led  multitudes  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  founded  churches 
in  all  the  new  communities  of  the  West,  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  denominational  institutions,  on  which  a  magnifi- 
cent superstructure  has  since  been  built.  Let  us  honor 
as  he  deserves  the  pioneer  preacher  of  the  West.  We 
who  have  entered  into  the  labors  of  such  men  are  noble 
indeed  if  we  are  worthy  to  unloose  the  latchet  of  their 
shoes.  Time  would  fail  to  tell  of  such  men  as  Ebenezer 
Loomis,  the  Michigan  evangelist ;  of  James  Delaney,  the 
Wisconsin  pioneer;  of  Amory  Gale,  who  preached  over 
one  hundred  thousand  miles  of  Minnesota ;  of  "  Father  " 
Taggart,  of  Nebraska ;  and  of  scores  of  others  equally 
worthy  of  undying  honor.  Their  record  is  on  high ; 
their  names  are  written  in  the  book  of  God's  remem- 
brance. "  And  they  shall  be  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my  jewels." 

But  a  still  greater  opportunity  was  before  American 
Baptists.     When  Thomas  Jefiferson  became  president,  in 


324  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

1801,  the  United  States  included  an  area  of  eight  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
four  square  miles,  all  to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
In  1803,  Jefferson,  with  noble  inconsistency  setting  aside 
all  his  past  record  as  a  strict  constructionist  of  the  Con- 
stitution, bought  from  France  for  fifteen  million  dollars 
a  strip  of  territory  that  more  than  doubled  the  area  of 
his  country.  This  Louisiana  purchase,  as  it  was  called, 
added  to  the  national  domain  one  million  one  hundred 
and  seventy-one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty-one 
square  miles.  From  this  territory  were  afterward  formed 
the  States  of  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Iowa,  Kan- 
sas, Nebraska,  Wyoming,  the  two  Dakotas,  Montana, 
the  Indian  Territory,  and  Oklahoma,  besides  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  States  of  Minnesota  and  Colorado. 

Settlement  of  this  new  region  necessarily  proceeded 
very  slowly  for  some  time.  The  Indians  were  hostile  and 
threatening  on  the  north,  and  the  possession  of  the  south- 
ern part  was  menaced  by  the  British.  The  energies  of 
the  country  were  too  much  absorbed  by  the  war  of  181 2, 
the  struggle  to  preserve  the  independence  so  hard  won 
in  the  Revolution,  to  have  much  surplus  energy  for  col- 
onization. At  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  in  181 1,  General 
Harrison  broke  the  power  of  the  Indians,  who  were  never 
formidable  again  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  while  "  Old 
Hickory,"  by  his  defeat  of  the  British  at  New  Orleans  in 
1 81 5,  forever  assured  the  integrity  of  our  possessions 
against  any  foreign  attack.  Peace  soon  came  to  crown 
these  victories,  and  then  the  great  westward  movement 
of  population  began.  In  a  half-century  the  face  of  this 
continent  was  transformed  as  no  similar  expanse  on  the 
earth's  surface  was  ever  transformed  in  so  short  a  time. 

The  unsystematic  system  that  had  been  so  undoubtedly 
effective  for  a  time  was  outgrown ;  something  else  must 
be  devised.     Highly  privileged  is  the  man  who  becomes 


THE    PERIOD    OF    EXPANSION  325 

an  agent  of  God's  providence  in  the  founding  of  a  great 
and  beneficent  institution.  Tliere  were  many  men  who 
had  an  honorable  part  in  the  founding  of  the  American 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society ;  but  if  one  must  be  chosen 
from  them  who  was  preeminent,  that  one  can  be  no  other 
than  John  M.  Peck.  He  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Conn., 
in  1789,  was  converted  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  joined 
the  Congregational  church.  In  1811  he  removed  with 
his  wife  to  Windham,  N.  Y.,  and  there  a  careful  study 
of  the  Bible  made  him  a  Baptist.  He  was  almost  immedi- 
ately licensed  to  preach,  and  was  ordained  to  the  ministry 
at  Catskill  in  1812. 

From  the  first  he  was  a  missionary,  his  only  pastorate 
being  of  not  much  over  a  year's  duration,  at  Amenia, 
N.  Y.  Becoming  acquainted  with  Luther  Rice,  when  the 
latter  was  telling  abroad  the  story  of  Judson  and  the 
work  in  India,  efifectually  determined  his  bent  in  that 
direction ;  only  it  was  home  missions,  not  foreign,  that 
appealed  most  strongly  to  him.  In  1817  the  Triennial 
Convention  commissioned  him  as  a  missionary  to  the 
region  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  rest  of  his  life  was 
spent  in  that  work.  It  was  a  journey  of  one  thousand  two 
hundred  miles  to  an  unknown  country,  almost  as  heathen 
as  Burma  and  far  less  civilized,  that  he  and  his  then 
took.  Let  us  make  no  mistake,  John  M.  Peck  was  quite 
as  heroic  as  Judson  or  Boardman. 

1  From  his  arrival  at  St.  Louis  he  became  the  apostle 
of  the  West.  His  labors  were  incredible  in  extent  and 
variety,  and  though  he  had  a  constitution  of  iron,  they 
made  an  old  man  of  him  by  the  time  he  was  fifty.  Dur- 
ing his  first  three  years  he  had  organized  several 
churches,  secured  the  establishment  of  fifty  schools,  in- 
troduced a  system  of  itinerant  missions,  projected  a  col- 
lege, and  undertaken  part  of  the  support  of  Rev.  Isaac 
McCoy,  missionary  to  the  Indians.     It  was  bad  enough 


326  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

to  contend  with  poverty,  ignorance,  and  irreligion,  but 
in  Peck's  case  perils  from  false  brethren  were  added  to 
all  the  other  perils  of  the  wilderness.  Anti-mission  Bap- 
tists were  strong  at  that  time  in  Kentucky,  and  began  to 
make  their  way  into  Missouri  and  Illinois — old  high- 
and-dry  Calvinists  like  those  with  whom  Carey  had  to 
contend,  who  held  that  it  was  flying  in  the  face  of  Divine 
Providence  to  plead  with  men  to  come  to  Jesus,  and  such 
new-fangled  things  as  missionary  societies  were  of  the 
devil.  To  the  everlasting  shame  of  the  Triennial  Con- 
vention, it  permitted  itself  to  be  influenced  by  the  com- 
plaints that  came  to  it  from  such  sources,  and  in  1820, 
or  soon  after,  all  support  was  withdrawn  from  this  West- 
ern enterprise.  No  appeals  or  remonstrances  served  to 
secure  a  reconsideration  of  the  question,  and  Peck  was 
compelled  to  look  elsewhere  for  help.  He  could  not  think 
in  any  case  of  deserting  the  work  to  which  God  had 
called  him — a  work  whose  importance  became  more  clear 
to  him  each  year. 

Had  it  not  been  for  this  unfaithfulness  to  its  duty  on 
the  part  of  the  Triennial  Convention,  this  disgraceful  de- 
sertion of  a  true  and  tried  man,  the  Home  Mission  So- 
ciety would  doubtless  never  have  been  formed.  Peck 
turned  first  to  the  Massachusetts  Baptist  Missionary 
Society,  which  made  him  its  missionary  at  the  munificent 
salary  of  five  dollars  a  week — no  doubt  all  that  it  had  to 
give  at  the  time.  He  resumed  his  work  with  fresh 
courage  and  was  unwearied  in  it,  traveling  all  over  the 
States  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Missouri.  Then  he  took 
a  brief — not  rest,  but  change  of  labor,  by  making  a 
tour  of  the  Eastern  States  to  interest  them  in  Western 
missions,  returning  with  over  one  thousand  dollars 
pledged  for  a  seminary  at  Rock  Spring.  111.,  which  forth- 
with began,  with  him  as  professor  of  theology.  Then 
he  added  to  his  other  enterprises  the  publication   of  a 


THE    PERIOD    OF    EXPANSION  327 

newspaper,  The  Pioneer,  in  1829.  No  wonder  that  his 
health  quite  broke  down  in  1831,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  rest  from  his  labors  for  a  time. 

Even  then  he  was  not  idle — such  a  man  could  not  be 
idle.  He  could  think  and  plan,  if  he  could  not  actively 
work.  At  just  this  time  Elder  Jonathan  Going  was  sent 
\\'est  by  the  Massachusetts  Baptists  to  look  over  the  field 
and  report  on  its  needs ;  for  three  months  he  and  Peck 
traveled  over  the  new  States  of  the  West,  and  before 
they  separated,  so  an  entry  in  Peck's  journal  informs  us, 
they  had  agreed  on  the  plan  of  the  American  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society.  These  two  were  the  founders 
of  that  organization.  For  the  practical  execution  of  the 
plan,  Going  was  the  very  man,  and  it  was  not  more  than 
six  months  after  his  return  before  the  Society  was  an 
assured  fact.  On  April  27,  1832,  the  new  Society  was 
formed  in  New  York,  where  its  headquarters  have  since 
remained.  The  motto  selected  for  the  Society  was  an 
assurance  that  no  local  interests  should  be  permitted  to 
circumscribe  its  sympathies  or  activities. 

Its  first  work  was  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  This  was 
the  far  West  of  that  day ;  the  outposts  of  civilization 
were  just  beginning  to  push  beyond  that  barrier  of  na- 
ture. Here  a  great  battle  was  to  be  fought.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  Louisiana  purchase  was  almost  exclusively 
Roman  Catholic.  We  can  see  now  that  the  question  of 
the  supremacy  of  this  continent,  for  which  the  Protestant 
Saxon  race  and  the  Catholic  French  race  long  contended, 
was  fought  out  and  settled  on  the  plains  of  Abraham,  in 
1759,  when  Wolfe  defeated  Montcalm  and  captured  the 
stronghold  of  Quebec.  But  this  was  not  so  clear  at  the 
time.  Rome  is  an  antagonist  that  does  not  know  when 
she  is  beaten.  She  recognized,  indeed,  that  she  had  re- 
ceived a  severe  check  in  the  New  World,  but  could  not 
believe  it  a  final  defeat.     She  dreamed  that  in  the  valley 


328  A   SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

of  the  Mississippi,  with  the  great  advantage  she  already 
had,  not  only  all  her  losses  might  be  regained,  but  a 
victory  might  be  won  far  surpassing  her  apparent  defeat. 
And  who  shall  say  that  this  was  all  dream?  As  we  look 
back  it  seems  a  not  unreasonable  forecast,  from  the  real- 
ization of  which  only  a  merciful  Providence  saved  us. 
The  fruits  of  Wolfe's  victory  might  have  been  lost  but 
for  the  fact  that  just  at  the  critical  hour  God  raised 
up  such  missionary  and  evangelizing  agencies  as  the 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society. 

During  its  earliest  years,  Elder  Peck  was  the  Home 
Mission  Society  in  the  West — its  visible  embodiment,  its 
chief  adviser,  and  local  executive.  Time  and  space  would 
fail  to  tell  of  the  variety  and  extent  of  his  labors.  He 
was  foremost  in  organizing  the  Illinois  Educational  So- 
ciety, in  founding  and  endowing  Alton  Seminary  and 
Shurtleff  College ;  the  churches,  educational  institutions, 
societies  of  all  kinds,  that  owe  their  life  to  him — their 
name  is  legion.  And  he  was  not  merely  active;  he  was 
wise,  far-seeing,  shrewd.  He  made  few  mistakes,  and 
his  previsions  of  the  greatness  that  would  come  to  these 
Western  communities  failed  only  in  being  far  short  of 
the  reality,  daring  as  they  seemed  to  his  contemporaries. 
The  Baptist  cause  in  the  Middle  West  owes  what  it  is 
to-day  to  the  work  of  John  M.  Peck  more  than  to  any 
other  score  of  men  that  can  be  named. 

In  1856  he  died,  a  man  worn  out  by  his  labors  before 
his  due  time ;  for  though  he  had  reached  the  age  of  sixty- 
six — a  good  length  of  years  for  many  men — his  consti- 
tution should  have  made  him  good  for  twenty  years  more. 
But  if  other  men  have  lived  longer,  few  have  lived 
lives  more  useful  or  that  have  left  greater  results.  If  we 
adopt  Napoleon's  test  of  greatness — what  has  he  done? — 
there  has  been  no  greater  man  in  the  history  of  American 
Baptists  than  John  M.  Peck. 


THE    PERIOD    OF    EXPANSION  329 

Into  the  New  West  of  the  "  thirties  "  the  new  Society 
moved,  at  first  with  but  slender  resources,  yet  with  a 
dauntless  spirit.  It  became  the  great  pioneer  agency  of 
the  denomination.  One  of  its  first  missionaries  was  the 
Rev.  Allen  B.  Freeman,  who  in  1833  gathered  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Chicago — the  first  church  of  the  de- 
nomination to  be  established  in  what  was  then  the  North- 
west. Call  the  roll  of  the  great  cities  of  the  West — 
St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Omaha,  Denver,  Los  Angeles, 
San  Francisco,  Portland — what  would  the  Baptist  cause 
have  been  in  them  but  for  this  Society?  In  nearly  all  of 
these  cities,  not  only  was  the  first  Baptist  church  estab- 
lished by  this  organization,  but  most  of  the  Baptist 
churches  existing  in  them  to-day  owe  their  birth  and 
continued  existence  to  its  fostering  care.  Call  the  roll 
of  our  great  Western  commonwealths — Illinois,  Wiscon- 
sin, Iowa,  Minnesota,  Texas,  Colorado,  Nebraska,  Kan- 
sas, Dakota,  Wyoming,  Utah,  Idaho,  Montana,  Cali- 
fornia, Oregon,  Washington — in  every  one  of  these  this 
Society  has  been  the  pioneer  agency  of  the  denomination 
by  from  two  to  twenty  years. 

In  1845  the  Society  began  the  evangelization  of  the  far 
West  by  the  sending  of  Rev.  Ezra  Fisher  and  Rev.  Ileze- 
kiah  Johnson  from  Iowa  to  Oregon.  Their  hardships  on 
the  way  were  great,  but  they  reached  their  destination 
safely,  and  the  foundations  of  Baptist  churches  were  speed- 
ily laid  in  that  State.  In  1848,  before  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  California  was  announced  in  the  East,  Rev.  O.  C. 
Wheeler  was  sent  to  San  Francisco,  via  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama;  and  later  Rev.  H.  W.  Read  was  sent  overland 
to  the  same  destination ;  but  on  reaching  New  Mexico 
he  was  so  impressed  with  the  importance  and  destitution 
of  that  field  that  he  asked  and  obtained  the  consent  of 
the  Board  to  remain  there.  In  the  other  States,  mission 
work  was  besfun  as  fast  as  men  and  means  could  be  found 


330  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

to  extend  operations  westward.  In  Kansas  the  Society 
had  a  missionary  as  early  as  1854,  and  one  was  sent  into 
Nebraska  in  1856.  The  troublous  times  just  before  and 
during  the  Civil  War  brought  this  advance  to  a  tem- 
porary standstill,  but  in  1864  it  was  again  resumed,  en- 
trance having  been  made  in  that  year  into  two  States 
— Dakota  and  Colorado.  In  1870  Washington  and 
Wyoming  were  occupied,  and  in  1871  Montana  and  Utah. 

What  have  been  the  results  on  the  denominational 
growth?  They  are  difficult  to  compute.  In  the  year 
1832,  when  the  Home  Mission  Society  was  organized, 
there  were  in  its  peculiar  field — the  West — nine  hundred 
churches,  a  large  part  of  them  feeble  and  pastorless, 
since  there  were  but  six  hundred  ministers,  and  the  total 
membership  was  but  thirty-two  thousand.  In  1896  the 
Baptist  denomination  in  that  field,  and  in  the  farther 
West  that  is  still  more  distinctively  missionary  territory, 
had  seven  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy  churches 
and  five  hundred  and  eighty-one  thousand  members. 

Though  the  work  of  home  missions  was  thus  first  in 
point  of  time  and  in  pressing  necessity,  it  was  not  the 
first  to  be  organized  on  a  permanent  basis.  Long  before 
this  had  come  about,  a  clear  providential  summons  had 
come  to  Baptists  to  fulfil  the  Great  Commission,  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.  This  was  accom- 
plished through  Adoniram  Judson,  the  son  of  a  Congre- 
gational minister  of  Massachusetts,  who  was  educated 
at  Brown  University  and  Andover  Theological  Seminary. 
Through  the  influence  of  Judson  and  some  other  students 
at  Andover,  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions  was  organized ;  and  in  1812  several 
missionaries  were  sent  out  to  India,  among  whom  were 
Adoniram  Judson  and  his  wife,  Ann  Hasseltine  Judson. 
Their  destination  was  Calcutta,  where  they  knew  some 
English  Baptist  missionaries  to  be  laboring.     It  seemed 


THE  PERIOD  OF  EXPANSION  33I 

probable  to  the  Juclsons  that  they  would  be  called  upon 
to  defend  their  own  doctrines  and  practice  in  the  matter 
of  baptism  against  these  Baptists,  and  Mr.  Judson  began 
to  study  the  question  on  shipboard  with  his  usual  ardor. 

The  more  he  sought  to  find  in  the  Scriptures  authority 
for  the  baptism  of  infants  and  for  sprinkling  as  baptism, 
the  more  convinced  was  he  that  neither  could  be  found 
there.  ]\Irs.  Judson  also  became  much  troubled.  After 
landing  at  Calcutta  they  sought  out  the  English  Baptist 
missionaries,  and  continued  their  study  with  the  help  of 
other  books  procured.  Finally  both  were  convinced  that 
the  Baptist  position  was  right,  that  they  had  never  been 
baptized,  and  that  duty  to  Christ  demanded  that  they 
should  be  baptized.  Accordingly,  they  were  immersed 
in  the  Baptist  chapel  at  Calcutta  by  Rev.  William  Ward, 
September  6,  1813.  Shortly  after,  Luther  Rice,  another 
appointee  of  the  same  Board,  who  had  sailed  by  another 
ship,  landed  at  Calcutta,  having  undergone  a  precisely 
similar  experience.  He  too  was  baptized.  The  question 
then  arose,  what  were  they  to  do?  By  this  act,  though 
they  had  obeyed  Christ,  they  had  cut  themselves  ofif  from 
connection  with  the  Board  that  had  sent  them  forth,  and 
were  strangers  in  a  strange  land,  without  means  of  future 
support.  It  was  resolved  that  Mr.  Rice  should  return  to 
America,  tell  the  Baptists  there  what  had  happened,  and 
throw  the  new  mission  upon  them — for  of  abandoning 
the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  heathen,  to  which 
they  felt  that  God  had  called  them,  the  Judsons  seem 
never  to  have  thought. 

Mr.  Rice  reached  Boston  in  September,  1813  and  told 
his  story.  The  Baptists  of  Boston  and  vicinity  at  once 
became  responsible  for  the  support  of  the  Judsons,  but 
they  saw  that  the  finger  of  Providence  pointed  to  a  larger 
undertaking  than  this.  They  advised  Mr.  Rice  to  visit 
the  Baptist  churches  at  large  and  try  to  interest  them  in 


332  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

this  work.  To  their  honor  be  it  written,  the  Baptists 
of  that  day  did  not  hesitate  for  an  instant.  They  were 
poor  and  scattered,  and  the  country  was  just  beginning 
its  second  struggle  for  independence.  No  time  could  have 
been  less  propitious  for  the  launching  of  a  new  enter- 
prise, especially  one  projected  on  so  large  a  scale  as  this. 
But  our  fathers  were  men  of  faith  and  prayer  and  good 
works;  they  obeyed  the  voice  of  God  and  went  forward. 
With  great  enthusiasm  they  responded  to  the  appeals  of 
Mr.  Rice ;  considering  their  relative  poverty,  the  contribu- 
tions were  liberal ;  missionary  societies  sprang  up  all  over 
the  land ;  the  denomination  for  the  first  time  had  a  com- 
mon cause,  and  became  conscious  of  its  unity  and  its 
power. 

The  need  was  at  once  felt  of  some  one  central  organi- 
zation that  would  unite  these  forces  in  the  missionary 
cause,  and  after  mutual  counsel  among  the  officers  of 
several  existing  bodies,  a  meeting  was  called  for  the  or- 
ganization of  a  national  society.  This  meeting  was  held 
at  Philadelphia  in  May,  1814,  and  resulted  in  the  forma- 
tion of  "  The  General  Convention  of  the  Baptist  Denomi- 
nation in  the  United  States  for  Foreign  Missions."  The 
constitution  declared  the  object  to  be  to  direct  "the 
energies  of  the  whole  denomination  in  one  sacred  effort 
for  sending  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  the  heathen, 
and  to  nations  destitute  of  pure  gospel  light."  From  the 
circumstance  of  its  meeting  once  in  three  years,  this 
body  was  popularly  known  as  the  "  Triennial  Conven- 
tion," though  that  was  never  its  official  title.  It  con- 
tinued to  be  the  organ  of  the  denomination  for  its  foreign 
work  until  1845. 

The  Baptist  churches  of  the  entire  country  were  rep- 
resented in  its  organization  and  conduct  and  support. 
Its  first  president  was  Richard  Furman,  of  South  Caro- 
lina.    There  was,  however,  considerable  opposition,  not 


THE  PERIOD  OF  EXPANSION  333 

by  any  means  confined  to  any  one  section,  to  this  new  mis- 
sionary movement.  Many  Baptist  churches  held  a  form 
of  Calvinistic  doctrine  that  was  paralyzing  to  all  evangeli- 
cal effort.  Their  doctrine  of  the  divine  decrees  was 
practically  fatalism :  when  God  was  ready  to  convert  the 
heathen,  he  would  do  so  without  human  intervention ; 
and  to  send  out  missionaries  for  this  purpose  was  an 
irreverent  meddling  with  the  divine  purposes,  as  repre- 
hensible as  Uzzah's  rash  staying  of  the  ark  of  God  when 
it  seemed  about  to  fall.  Consequently,  from  this  time 
onward  the  Baptists  of  the  United  States  became  di- 
vided into  two  parties,  missionary  Baptists  and  anti- 
missionary  Baptists.  The  latter  were  at  first  equal,  if 
not  superior,  in  numbers  to  the  former;  in  some  districts 
the  anti-mission  Baptists  were  largely  in  the  majority. 
But  a  doctrine  and  practice  so  discouraging  of  practical 
efifort  for  the  salvation  of  men  produced  its  legitimate 
results  in  a  generation  or  two,  by  reducing  the  number 
of  anti-mission  Baptists  to  nearly  or  quite  the  vanishing 
point  in  the  greater  part  of  the  United  States.  Remnants 
of  the  sect  still  survive,  and  in  a  few  Southern  States 
the  churches  are  still  quite  strong.  Their  total  number 
has  for  years  been  given  at  about  forty  thousand  in 
denominational  statistics,  but  the  census  of  1890  states 
their  total  membership  as  one  hundred  and  twenty-one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-seven.  Though  they 
long  since  practically  disappeared  from  the  Northern 
States,  they  have  a  few  churches  in  almost  every  State 
of  the  Union,  except  the  newer  ones  beyond  the 
Mississippi. 

The  first  mission  established  by  the  General  Convention 
was  in  Burma,  whither  the  Judsons  went  in  1813,  because 
the  intolerance  of  the  British  East  India  Company  de- 
nied them  the  privilege  of  laboring  in  India,  the  land 
of  their  first  choice.     The  work  began  at  Rangoon  in 


334  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

July,  1813,  but  it  was  not  until  July,  1819,  that  the  first 
convert,  Moung  Nau,  was  baptized.  The  war  between 
England  and  Burma  broke  out  just  as  the  work  began  to 
prosper,  and  for  three  years  Judson  and  his  devoted  wife 
suffered  incredible  tortures  of  body  and  spirit.  After 
the  war  the  mission  came  under  British  protection  and 
prospered.  Doctor  Judson  continued  to  preach  and  teach 
until  his  death,  and  gave  the  Burmans  the  Scriptures 
in  their  native  tongue. 

The  work  in  Burma  has  not  been  so  prosperous  among 
the  Burmans  as  among  the  Karens,  a  people  living  in 
the  hill  districts.  Among  them  the  gospel  has  made 
great  progress  from  the  establishment  of  the  mission  by 
Rev.  George  Dana  Boardman,  in  1828.  A  mission  in 
Arracan  was  established  in  1835,  and  one  in  Siam  in 
1833.  In  1834  Rev.  William  Dean  began  a  mission  at 
Bangkok  among  the  Chinese  of  that  city.  In  1842  Mr. 
Dean  left  on  account  of  his  health,  and  began  a  mission 
in  Hong  Kong.  A  mission  was  established  in  Assam  in 
1836,  and  in  1821  two  Negro  missionaries  were  sent  out 
to  Liberia.  These  were  practically  all  of  the  missions 
among  the  heathen  begun  and  carried  on  during  the 
history  of  the  General  Convention.  Several  European 
missions,  however,  belong  to  this  period — the  missions 
to  France,  Germany,  Denmark,  and  Greece.  Of  these, 
something  more  will  be  said  in  another  chapter. 

These  beginnings  of  foreign  missionary  work  by  Ameri- 
can Baptists  were  largely  blessed  in  the  extension  of  the 
work  among  the  heathen ;  but  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
the  reflex  blessing  on  the  Baptist  churches  of  this  country 
was  not  the  larger  blessing  of  the  two.  Never  was  the 
Scripture  better  illustrated  than  in  the  history  of  Baptists 
in  the  United  States :  "  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet 
increaseth ;  there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet, 
but  it  tendeth  to  poverty." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  DAYS  OF  CONTROVERSY 

OAUL    the  apostle  enumerates  "perils  among  false 
r    brethren  "  as  not  the  least  of  the  trials  that  befeU 
him  in  preaching  the  gospel.    So  Baptists  found  it  m  the 
firTt  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.     One  controversy 
fraught  with  peril  to  their  churches  began  m  New  Eng- 
tod  before  the  century  opened.    It  was.  indeed  the  nat- 
Ll  almost  the  necessary,  result  of  the  G^^at  Awak  n- 
i„g.     Just  as  the  Reformation  of  L"ther  produced  the 
counter-reformation  of  Loyola,  so  the  Edwards-Wh  te^ 
field  revival  produced  the  Un.tanan  reaction-produced 
•the  sense  o'f  precipitating,  not  in  that  of  or.g.naUausa 
tion     Unitarianism  had.  for  some  t,me.  been  m  so  u  ton 
n  New  England,  and  the  revival  caused  >t  to  crystalhze 
i"to  visible  form.     What  had  been  a  tendency  became 
a  movement;  a  mode  of  thinking  became  a  propaganda 
thresoteric  doctrines  of  a  few  became  the  openly  avowed 
basis  of  a  sect.     We  can  only  glance  at  th.s  .nterestmg 
topic  as  we  pass  by.  its  place  m  th,s  survey  of  Baptist 
Ws  ory  being  justified  nierely  by  the  fact  that  the  New 
England  Baptists  stood  as  a  chief  bulwark  agamst  the 
'heresv      I"  iSoo  two  of  the  six  orthodox  churches  lef 
n    Boston    were    Baptist,    while    eight    Congrega  .onal 
churches  and  one  Episcopal  church  had  gone  over  boddy 
o  Uni  arianism.    Samuel  Stillman  and  Thomas  Baldwm 
were  the  pastors  of  these  two  churches   durmg  these 
IZLs  times,  and  no  two  men  did  more  than  they 
to  resist   false   doctrines  by  preachmg  the  truth.     In 
deenhroughout  New  England  it  is  said  that  not  one 


^ 


336  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Baptist  church  forsook  the  faith,  and  not  one  Baptist 
minister  of  note  became  a  Unitarian.  This  stanch  or- 
thodoxy of  the  Baptists  had  a  profound  effect  on  the 
history  of  American  Christianity,  as  will  be  pointed  out 
in  another  connection. 

A  controversy  more  serious  in  its  results  upon  the 
denomination  was  that  which  grew  out  of  the  question 
of  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures.  In  the  year  1816, 
the  American  Bible  Society  was  formed  by  delegates  rep- 
resenting seven  denominations  of  Christians.  There  had 
been  local  Bible  Societies  previous  to  this  time.  This 
organization  was  intended  to  be  a  national  society,  in 
which  all  American  Christians  might  co-operate.  Its 
formation  was  due  to  the  success  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  the  organization  of  which  in  1804 
was  directly  owing  to  the  agency  of  Rev.  Joseph  Hughes, 
an  English  Baptist.  The  Baptists  of  America  were  active 
in  the  work  of  the  Society  from  the  first,  and  contrib- 
uted generously  to  its  treasury.  The  object  of  the  So- 
ciety was  avowed,  at  the  time  of  its  organization,  to  be 
"  the  dissemination  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  received 
versions  where  they  exist,  and  in  the  most  faithful  where 
they  are  required."  In  accordance  with  this  principle, 
for  the  first  eighteen  years  of  its  existence  the  Society 
appropriated  money  from  its  funds  for  the  printing  and 
circulation  of  versions  of  the  Scriptures  in  many  lan- 
guages, made  by  missionaries  of  various  denominations. 

Perhaps  Doctor  Judson's  greatest  service  in  the  cause 
of  missions  was  the  translation  of  the  entire  Bible  into 
the  Burmese  language.  It  was  his  life-work,  and  remains 
to  this  day  the  only  version  of  the  Scriptures  in  that 
tongue.^     All  competent  witnesses  have  borne  testimony 

'  It  is  true  that  in  recent  years  copies  of  the  Scriptures  have  been  put 
in  circulation  in  Burma  in  which  baptizo  and  its  cognates  are  transliterated 
or  mistranslated;  but  these  are  not  independent  versions,  only  Pedobaptist 
revisions  of  the  Judson  Bible. 


Page  336 


Adonikam  Jldson 


THE    DAYS   OF    CONTROVERSY  33/ 

from  the  first  to  the  faithfulness  and  elegance  of  his 
translation.  The  New  Testament  was  printed  at  Moul- 
mein  in  1832,  and  the  Old  Testament  two  years  later. 
Appropriations  for  this  purpose  were  made  by  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society.  It  was  well  understood  on  all  hands, 
through  official  communications  and  otherwise,  that  the 
missionaries  sent  out  by  the  American  Baptists,  in  all 
their  versions  of  the  Scriptures  endeavored  to  ascertain 
the  precise  meaning  of  the  original  text  and  to  express 
that  meaning  as  exactly  as  possible,  transferring  no 
words  into  the  vernacular  for  which  a  proper  equivalent 
could  be  found.  In  accordance  with  this  principle,  Doctor 
Judson's  version  rendered  baptico  and  its  cognates  by  a 
Burman  word  meaning  to  immerse,  or  dip.  During  this 
same  period  appropriations  were  voted  for  the  circula- 
tion of  other  missionary  versions,  made  by  other  than 
Baptist  missionaries,  yet  made  on  the  same  principle  of 
translation,  though  they  did  not  agree  with  Judson  as 
to  the  meaning  of  baptizo.  In  1835  the  propriety  of 
this  course  was  for  the  first  time  questioned.  In  that 
year  application  was  made  to  the  Society  for  an  appro- 
priation to  aid  in  printing  and  circulating  a  version  of  the 
Scriptures  in  Bengali,  made  on  the  principle  of  Doctor 
Judson. 

This  application  was  discussed  in  committee  and  in 
the  full  Board  for  many  months.  The  Baptist  members 
of  the  Board  vainly  urged  that  the  Society  had  already 
appropriated  eighteen  thousand  dollars  for  the  circula- 
tion of  Doctor  Judson's  version,  with  full  knowledge  of 
its  nature ;  that  this  was  the  only  version  in  Burmese 
in  existence,  and  that  the  alternative  was  either  to  cir- 
culate this  or  deprive  the  Burmese  of  the  gospel ;  and 
that  the  adoption  of  another  rule  introduced  a  new  and 
necessarily  divisive  principle  into  the  Society's  policy.  At 
length,  by  a  vote  of  twenty  to  fourteen,  the  managers 
w 


338  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

rejected  the  application  and  formulated  for  the  guidance 
of  the  Society  a  new  rule  regarding  versions — that  they 
would  "  encourage  only  such  versions  as  conformed  in 
the  principle  of  their  translation  to  the  common  English 
version,  at  least,  so  far  that  all  the  religious  denomina- 
tions represented  in  this  Society  can  consistently  use  and 
circulate  said  versions  in  their  several  schools  and  com- 
munities." At  its  next  annual  meeting  in  May,  1836,  the 
Society  approved  the  action  of  the  managers. 

Of  course  this  decision  made  it  impossible  for  Baptists 
to  co-operate  with  the  Society  except  at  the  sacrifice  of 
their  self-respect.  In  April,  1837,  a  convention  was  held 
in  Philadelphia,  composed  of  three  hundred  and  ninety 
delegates  from  twenty-three  States,  and  the  American 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society  was  organized,  Doctor  Cone 
being  elected  president.  Dr.  Charles  G.  Sommers,  of 
New  York,  was  the  first  corresponding  secretary,  and 
William  Colgate  the  first  treasurer.  From  the  first  there 
was  difference  of  opinion  among  the  supporters  of  this 
Society  on  one  question,  namely,  the  making  of  a  new 
version  of  the  Scriptures  in  English.  Baptists  were  prac- 
tically a  unit  in  maintaining  that  all  new  versions  into 
foreign  languages  should  faithfully  render  every  word 
of  the  original  by  the  corresponding  word  of  the  ver- 
nacular. But  many  Baptists  doubted  the  expediency,  and 
still  more  questioned  the  necessity,  of  making  a  new 
version  in  our  own  tongue.  The  discussion  of  this  ques- 
tion went  on  until  May,  1850,  when,  after  long  and 
warm  debate,  the  Society  voted  to  circulate  only  received 
versions  in  English,  without  note  or  comment. 

In  the  following  June  the  American  Bible  Union  was 
organized.  Its  object  was  declared  to  be  "  to  procure 
and  circulate  the  most  faithful  versions  of  the  Scriptures 
in  all  languages  throughout  the  world."  The  principle 
of    translation    adopted    by    the    Union    was    to    render 


THE  DAYS  OF  CONTROVERSY  339 

every  word  of  the  original  Scriptures  into  the  vernacular 
word  which  would  most  nearly  represent  its  meaning 
as  determined  by  the  best  modern  scholarship.  This  work 
was  prosecuted  with  much  energy,  and  revised  versions 
of  the  Scriptures  were  printed  and  circulated  in  Spanish 
and  Italian,  Chinese,  Siamese,  and  Karen.  The  Union 
also  issued  a  version  of  the  New  Testament  in  English,  in 
1865,  which  has  since  passed  through  several  careful 
revisions  and  is  a  most  faithful,  accurate,  and  idiomatic 
translation.  It  may  still  be  had  of  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society,  and  every  Baptist  should  possess  a 
copy ;  for,  however  much  the  King  James'  version  may 
commend  itself  for  use  in  public  and  private  devotions, 
this  more  literal  rendering  is  of  the  greatest  service  to 
one  who  would  understand  exactly  what  the  New  Testa- 
ment teaches.  From  time  to  time  parts  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment also  have  been  published,  and  eminent  scholars  are 
now  completing  a  translation,  with  notes,  of  the  remain- 
ing books,  under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society.^ 

Fierce  denominational  conflicts  resulted  from  this  di- 
vision of  effort  among  Baptists  regarding  the  Bible  work. 
Alany  continued  from  the  first  to  co-operate  with  the 
American  Bible  Society,  especially  in  the  circulation  of 
the  received  English  versions.  The  remainder  who  took 
any  interest  in  Bible  work  were  divided  in  their  affec- 
tions between  two  organizations,  and  the  participants 
of  each  waged  a  hot  warfare  against  the  others.  At  every 
denominational  gathering  the  strife  broke  out.  The 
newspapers  of  the  denomination  were  full  of  it,  and  in 
time  the  churches  became  heartily  tired  and  showed  their 
sentiments  by  discontinuing  their  contributions.  As  the 
receipts  dwindled  and  the  work  contracted,  efforts  were 

1  The  work  at  this  time   (1906)   is  being  pushed  forward,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  another  year  will   witness  its  completion. 


340  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF    THE   BAPTISTS 

made  from  time  to  time  toward  a  reunion  of  the  Ameri- 
can and  Foreign  Bible  Society  and  the  American  Bible 
Union,  and  one  or  both  Societies  tried  to  effect  a  union 
with  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society.  These 
efforts,  which  continued  from  1869  to  1880,  and  even 
afterward,  proved  complete  failures. 

Finally,  the  whole  question  of  Bible  work,  as  done  by 
the  Baptists,  was  referred  to  a  Bible  convention,  in  which 
the  denomination  at  large  should  be  represented ;  and 
such  a  convention  was  held  at  Saratoga  in  May,  1883. 
It  was  unanimously  decided  to  recommend  both  the  ex- 
isting Bible  Societies  practically  to  disband,  and  to  com- 
mit the  Bible  work  on  the  home  field  to  the  American 
Baptist  Publication  Society,  while  that  on  the  foreign 
field  should  be  done  by  the  American  Baptist  Missionary 
Union.  This  was  felt  on  all  hands  to  be  a  happy  decision 
of  the  vexed  question,  and  since  that  time  the  denomina- 
tion has  enjoyed  a  season  of  peace,  at  least  as  regards 
the  question  of  its  Bible  work. 

To  one  reviewing  the  controversy  after  this  interval 
of  time  it  seems  tolerably  plain  that  while  the  course 
taken  in  1836  was  the  only  one  that  could  have  been  ex- 
pected under  all  the  circumstances,  it  would  have  been 
better  for  the  peace  of  the  denomination  and  the  effect- 
iveness of  its  Bible  work  in  the  long  run  if  a  separate 
denominational  Bible  society  had  never  been  undertaken. 
There  is  not  sufficient  interest  among  Baptists  in  the 
translation  and  circulation  of  the  Scriptures — probably 
there  is  not  in  any  single  denomination — to  sustain  a 
society  that  exists  for  that  sole  purpose.  The  project  of 
circulating  a  denominational  version  of  the  Scriptures  in 
English  has  been  tested  once  for  all  and  proved  to  be  a 
disastrous  failure.  The  version  was  successfully  made 
and  possesses  many  merits,  but  it  could  not  be  circulated ; 
Baptists  could  neither  be  forced  nor  coaxed  to  use  it. 


THE  DAYS  OF  CONTROVERSY  34  I 

They  were  greatly  the  losers  and  are  still  by  reason  of 
this  apathy,  but  we  must  take  the  facts  of  human  nature 
as  we  find  them ;  and  one  fact  now  unquestioned  is  that 
the  attachment  of  English-speaking  Christians  to  the  ver- 
sion of  the  Scriptures  endeared  to  them  by  long  use  and 
tender  association  has  proved  to  be  too  strong  for  the 
successful  substitution  of  any  other. 

No  controversy  was  more  disastrous  to  the  Baptist 
churches  of  the  Middle  States  than  the  anti-AIasonic 
struggle  between  the  years  1826  and  1840.  One  William 
Morgan,  a  Mason,  who  had  published  a  book  purporting 
to  expose  the  secrets  of  the  order,  suddenly  disappeared 
in  1826,  and  was  believed  to  have  been  foully  dealt  with. 
A  body  was  discovered  and  identified  as  his,  though  the 
identification  has  always  been  regarded  as  doubtful.  Ex- 
citement against  the  Masons,  and  secret  fraternities  gen- 
erally, rose  high,  until  the  dispute  became  a  political  issue 
in  State  and  even  national  elections,  and  the  churches 
took  the  matter  up.  In  a  large  number  of  Baptist 
churches  the  majority  opposed  secret  fraternities,  declar- 
ing them  to  be  unscriptural  and  dangerous  to  the  peace 
and  liberties  of  the  Commonwealth.  In  many  cases  the 
minority  were  disfellowshiped,  and  not  a  few  flourishing 
churches  were  crippled,  or  even  extinguished,  while  the 
growth  of  all  was  much  retarded.  The  lessons  of  that 
period  have  taught  American  Baptists  to  be  chary  of 
interfering  through  church  discipline  with  questions  not 
strictly  religious,  and  to  beware  of  attempting  to  settle 
by  an  authoritative  rule  questions  of  conduct  which  it  is 
the  right  and  duty  of  each  Christian  man  to  decide  for 
himself.  Thus,  while  at  the  present  time,  the  majority 
of  Baptists  strongly  favor  total  abstinence  as  a  rule  of 
personal  conduct,  and  prohibition  as  a  practical  policy, 
in  very  few  churches  is  either  made  a  test  of  fellowship. 

The  Baptist  churches  of  the  South  and  West  were 


342  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

much  disturbed  during  the  second  quarter  of  this  century 
by  the  agitation  that  culminated  in  the  estabhshment  of 
the  Disciples  as  a  separate  body.  Up  to  that  time  the 
churches  of  these  regions,  to  a  considerable  extent,  held 
a  hyper-Calvinistic,  almost  antinomian,  theology.  The 
preaching  was  largely  doctrinal,  and  was  not  edifying 
to  the  majority  of  the  hearers,  however  much  it  might 
be  enjoyed  by  a  few.  Since  the  revival  of  1800,  religious 
experiences  in  this  region  had  been  attended  with  much 
emotional  disturbance.  Christians  professed  to  see  vis- 
ions, to  hear  heavenly  voices,  and  to  experience  great 
extremes  of  grief  and  joy.  Undue  importance  came  to  be 
attached  to  experiences  of  this  type,  and  the  relation  of 
a  series  of  vivid  and  emotional  phenomena  approaching 
the  miraculous  was  considered  an  almost  indispensable 
requisite  before  the  acceptance  of  a  candidate  for  baptism. 

About  the  year  181 5  certain  preachers  in  Western 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky  began  to  preach  what 
they  called  a  reformation.  The  professed  object  was  to 
return  to  the  simplicity  of  the  New  Testament  faith  and 
practice.  The  Scriptures  alone  were  to  be  the  authority 
in  this  reformation,  whose  motto  was,  "  Where  the 
Scriptures  speak,  we  speak;  where  they  are  silent,  we 
are  silent."  All  human  creeds  were  rejected,  candidates 
for  baptism  were  not  required  to  relate  any  experience, 
but  merely  to  profess  faith  in  Christ,  a  faith  that  was 
little,  if  anything,  more  than  a  mere  assent  of  the  intellect 
to  the  facts  narrated  in  the  Scriptures  concerning  the 
historic  Christ.  On  such  profession  the  candidate  was 
baptized  "  for  remission  of  sins,"  the  teaching  being  that 
only  in  such  baptism  could  he  receive  the  assurance  that 
his  sins  had  been  pardoned. 

The  foremost  leader  in  promoting  this  reformation 
was  Alexander  Campbell,  of  Scotch  ancestry  and  train- 
ing-, at  first  a  Presbyterian  of  the  Seceder  sect,  who  had 


THE  DAYS  OF  CONTROVERSY  343 

been  baptized  on  profession  of  faith  by  a  Baptist  minister 
in  1 81 2,  and  from  that  time  onward  maintained  for  some 
years  a  nominal  connection  with  the  Baptist  denomina- 
tion. \'ery  early,  however,  he  manifested  marked  differ- 
ences of  opinion  from  the  views  then  and  since  held  by 
the  majority  of  Baptists ;  and  it  soon  became  evident 
either  that  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  denomination 
must  undergo  a  remarkable  change,  or  Mr.  Campbell 
and  those  who  agreed  with  him  must  withdraw. 

When  in  1827,  through  the  influence  of  Rev.  Walter 
Scott,  the  practice  of  baptism  "  unto  remission  of  sins  " 
became  a  recognized  feature  in  the  reformation.  Baptists 
who  saw  in  this  nothing  but  the  old  heresy  of  baptismal 
regeneration,  promptly  bore  testimony  against  it.  The 
Mahoning  Association,  of  Ohio,  was  so  deeply  perme- 
ated by  the  new  teaching  that  it  disbanded,  and  the 
churches  followed  Messrs.  Campbell  and  Scott  almost  in 
a  body.  The  Redstone  Association,  of  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, withdrew  fellowship  from  Mr.  Campbell  and  his 
followers  in  1827.  Two  years  later  the  Beaver  Associa- 
tion, of  the  same  region,  issued  a  warning  to  all  Baptist 
churches  against  the  errors  taught  under  the  guise  of  a 
reformation,  and  in  1832  the  Dover  Association,  of  Vir- 
ginia, advised  Baptist  churches  to  separate  from  their 
communion  "  all  such  persons  as  are  promoting  contro- 
versy and  discord  under  the  specious  name  of  reform- 
ers." This  advice  was  given  on  the  ground  that  the 
doctrines  taught  were  "  not  according  to  godliness,  but 
subversive  of  the  true  spirit  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
disorganizing  and  demoralizing  in  their  tendency,  and 
therefore  ought  to  be  disavowed  and  resisted  by  all  the 
lovers  of  sound  truth  and  piety."  Twenty  years  after, 
Rev.  Jeremiah  B.  Jeter,  one  of  the  ablest  Baptist  op- 
ponents of  the  Disciple  movement,  and  one  of  the  authors 
of  this   resolution,   published   it   as   his   belief   that   the 


344  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

report  adopted  by  the  Dover  Association  contained  "  some 
unguarded,  unnecessarily  harsh  expressions,"  and  par- 
ticularly acknowledged  that  this  characterization  of  the 
doctrines  of  Campbell  as  "  demoralizing  in  their  tend- 
ency "  was  unjust.  After  the  action  of  the  Dover  Asso- 
ciation those  who  sympathized  with  Mr.  Campbell  either 
voluntarily  withdrew  from  the  Baptists  or  were  disfel- 
lowshiped  by  them,  and  in  a  decade  the  separation  was 
complete. 

The  effect  of  this  separation  was  very  great.  The  new 
reformation  had  been  started,  ostensibly  at  least,  with 
the  desire  of  uniting  all  Christian  denominations.  Its 
practical  result  was  the  addition  of  another  to  the  already 
long  list  of  sects.  The  Baptist  churches  in  the  West 
and  Southwest  were  rent  in  twain  by  the  schism.  Large 
numbers  of  Baptist  churches  went  over  to  the  reforma- 
tion in  a  body.  Many  others  were  divided.  A  period  of 
heated  and  bitter  controversy  followed,  the  results  of 
which  have  not  yet  passed  away.  The  Baptist  churches 
succeeded  in  separating  themselves  from  what  they 
rgarded  as  dangerous  heresy,  but  at  a  tremendous 
cost ;  and  in  our  own  day  the  Baptists  and  the  Disciples 
(as  the  followers  of  Mr.  Campbell  prefer  to  be  called) 
have  so  nearly  approached  agreement  that  the  sons  of 
the  men  who  fought  hardest  on  either  side  are  already 
discussing  the  question  whether  terms  of  reunion  are  not 
possible,  without  either  party  sacrificing  any  real 
principle.^ 

But  perhaps  the  most  bitter  controversy  of  all,  cer- 
tainly that  which  left  behind  it  the  deepest  scars  and 
most  permanent  alienations,  was  that  which  arose  over 
the  question  of  slavery.     This  was  not  an  experience 

1  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  thus  far  the  discussion  of  this  question 
has  thrown  no  great  light  upon  the  possibility  of  a  reunion,  and  that  the 
immediate  occurrence  of  such  an  event  cannot  be  predicted  with 
hopefulness. 


THE  DAYS  OF  CONTROVERSY  345 

peculiar  to  Baptists;  nearly  every  religious  body  in 
America  was  rent  by  the  same  contentions,  and  in  most 
cases  permanent  schisms  were  the  result. 

When  the  General  Convention  was  organized,  this  was 
by  no  means  a  burning  question.    Slavery  had  been  orig- 
inally common  to  all  the  colonies,  and  the  people  of  New 
England  had  done  their  full  share  toward  introducing 
and  perpetuating  the  system.    Perhaps  the  eyes  of  North- 
ern people  were  more  readily  opened  to  the  iniquities  of 
slavery  because  the  system  never  proved  profitable  in  the 
North.    Whether  owing  to  this  or  other  causes,  an  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  spread  through  the  Northern  States  to 
an  extent  sufficient  to  induce  them  to  emancipate  their 
slaves  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.     About  the  year 
1825  the  new  anti-slavery  sentiment  in  the  North,  de- 
manding immediate  emancipation,  became  prominent,  and 
from  January  i,  1831,  when  William  Lloyd  Garrison  is- 
sued his  first  number  of  the  "  Liberator,"  this  sentiment 
rapidly  spread.     It  met  with  much  opposition,  and^  soon 
the  Garrisonian  anti-slavery  agitation  placed  itself  in  di- 
rect antagonism  to  the  Christian  churches  of  the  North. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  a  growing  sentiment  among  the 
churches,  and  especially  among  the  Baptist  churches,  that 
a  Christian  man  ought  not  to  be  a  holder  of  slaves.    This 
agitation  became  the  cause  of  division  even  among  the 
Baptist  churches  of  the  Northern  States,  and  naturally 
threatened  the  peace  and  unity  of  the  denomination  as 

a  whole. 

Differences  of  opinion  regarding  the  slavery  question 
appear  in  the  minutes  of  the  General  Convention  for 
several  years  before  the  final  break.  These  appeared  to 
reach  the  culminating  point  in  the  year  1844.  The  ques- 
tion of  the  relation  to  slavery  of  Baptist  churches  repre- 
sented in  the  Convention  came  up  during  the  meeting 
of  that  year  for  thorough  discussion,  and  after  careful 


346  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

consideration  the  Convention  almost  unanimously  adopted 
the  following: 

Resolved,  That  in  co-operating  together  as  members  in  this 
Convention  in  the  work  of  foreign  missions,  we  disclaim  all 
sanctions  either  expressed  or  implied,  whether  of  slavery  or 
anti-slavery;  but  as  individuals  we  are  free  to  express  and  to 
promote  elsewhere  our  views  on  these  subjects  in  a  Christian 
manner  and  spirit. 

This  certainly  was  the  only  possible  method  of  treat- 
ing the  question  if  denominational  unity  was  to  be  pre- 
served. Had  the  terms  of  that  resolution  been  fairly 
adhered  to,  it  is  possible  that  the  peace  and  unity  of  the 
Baptist  churches  might  have  been  preserved,  at  least 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  But  its  terms  were 
not  respected.  Up  to  this  time  the  rule  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  missionaries  by  the  Board  of  the  Convention 
was  to  approve  "  such  persons  only  as  are  in  full  com- 
munion with  some  church  in  our  denomination,  and  who 
furnish  satisfactory  evidence  of  genuine  piety,  good  tal- 
ents, and  fervent  zeal  for  the  Redeemer's  cause."  This 
was  certainly  the  only  proper  rule  to  be  adopted  by  an 
institution  representing  all  the  Baptist  churches  of  the 
United  States — the  only  rule  under  which  all  those 
churches  could  unite  in  its  support.  The  Executive  Board 
had  received  a  mandate  from  the  Convention  in  1844  to 
preserve  this  attitude  of  neutrality.  Nevertheless,  in  the 
following  December,  in  response  to  a  question  addressed 
to  it  by  a  Southern  body,  the  Executive  Board  made  the 
following  reply,  which  was,  in  fact,  the  adoption  of  a 
new  rule:  "If  any  one  who  should  oflfer  himself  for  a 
missionary,  having  slaves,  should  insist  on  retaining  them 
as  his  property,  we  could  not  appoint  him.  One  thing 
is  certain,  we  can  never  be  a  party  to  an  arrangement 
which  would  imply  approbation  of  slavery." 


ft 


--# 


Page  34 


THE  DAYS  OF  CONTROVERSY  347 

No  doubt  the  Board  was  actuated  by  conscientious 
motives  in  making  such  a  reply,  but  it  is  easy  now  to 
see  that  they  misjudged  their  duties  as  Christian  men. 
They  were  the  agents  of  the  body  that  appointed  them, 
and  were  under  moral  obligation  to  obey  its  commands. 
In  making  this  rule  they  flagrantly  disobeyed.  If  they 
felt  as  Christian  men  that  obedience  to  the  higher  law  of 
God  forbade  them  to  carry  out  their  instructions,  their 
honorable  course  was  to  resign.  There  is  no  adequate 
defense  of  their  conduct  in  thus  disobeying  the  plain 
mandate  they  had  received  from  the  Convention  only  a 
few  months  before.  At  its  meeting  in  April,  1845,  the 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  moved  by 
a  similar  conflict  of  sentiment  and  the  majority  of  its 
attendants  being  Northern  men,  adopted  resolutions  de- 
claring it  to  be  "  expedient  that  the  members  now  form- 
ing the  Society  should  hereafter  act  in  separate  organiza- 
tions at  the  South  and  at  the  North  in  promoting  the 
objects  which  were  originally  contemplated  by  the  So- 
ciety." These  two  acts  on  the  part  of  Northern  Baptists 
rendered  the  maintenance  of  denominational  unity 
impossible. 

In  May,  1845,  i"  response  to  the  call  issued  by  the 
Mrginia  Foreign  Mission  Society,  three  hundred  and 
ten  delegates  from  the  Southern  churches  met  at  Au- 
gusta, Ga.,  and  organized  the  Southern  Baptist  Conven- 
tion. Its  constitution  was  precisely  that  of  the  original 
General  Baptist  Convention :  "  For  eliciting,  combining, 
and  directing  the  energies  of  the  whole  denomination  in 
one  sacred  effort  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel." 
It  established  two  Boards,  one  for  foreign  missions,  lo- 
cated in  Richmond,  and  one  for  domestic  missions,  at 
Marion,  Ala.  Since  that  time  the  Southern  Baptist 
churches  have  done  their  missionary  work  through  this 
organization.    During  the  Civil  War  the  need  was  greatly 


348  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

felt  of  some  means  of  eflfectually  prosecuting  Sunday- 
school  work  and  a  Sunday-school  Board  was  established 
at  Greenville,  S.  C.  In  1872  this  was  consolidated  with 
the  Home  Mission  Board. 

The  division  thus  caused  has  remained  until  the  pres- 
ent time.  There  have  been  occasional  propositions  for 
a  reunion  between  Northern  and  Southern  Baptists,  but 
they  have  met  with  little  favor  either  North  or  South. 
The  opinion  has  been  general  that  more  and  better  work 
is  accomplished  between  the  two  organizations  than  could 
be  accomplished  by  a  single  Baptist  Convention  for  the 
whole  United  States.  But  Northern  and  Southern  Bap- 
tists are  not,  as  some  apparently  delight  to  say,  two  sep- 
arate denominations.  The  churches,  both  North  and  South, 
hold  substantially  one  system  of  doctrine,  agree  in  all  im- 
portant points  of  practice,  receive  and  dismiss  members 
from  each  other  without  question,  and  are  in  full,  unre- 
stricted, uninterrupted  intercommunion.  The  old  cause 
of  bitterness  and  disunion,  the  question  of  property  in 
slaves,  has  disappeared.  The  generation  that  caused  the 
breach  of  denominational  unity  has  nearly  disappeared. 
Those  who  are  now  the  leaders  of  the  Baptist  hosts,  both 
North  and  South,  are  largely  men  who  have  been  born 
since  the  Civil  War  or  were  too  young  to  have  a  vivid 
recollection  of  it,  and  they  have  little  part  in  or  sym- 
pathy with  the  ante-bellum  controversies,  misunder- 
standings, and  bitterness.  Such  causes  of  estrangement 
as  still  remain  are .  diminishing  with  every  year,  and  if 
separate  organizations  are  maintained  or  shall  hereafter 
be  formed  for  any  kind  of  denominational  work,  it  will 
be  not  because  of  mutual  hostility  and  narrow  sectional 
feeling,  but  because,  in  the  judgment  of  cool-headed  and 
judicious  men,  the  work  of  our  Lord  may  be  more  ad- 
vantageously and  efficiently  accomplished  by  such  division 
of  labor. 


THE  DAYS  OF  CONTROVERSY  349 

After  the  Southern  Baptists  withdrew  from  the  General 
Convention,  acts  of  legislature  were  obtained  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  Massachusetts,  authorizing  the  changing  of 
its  name  to  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  and 
fixing  its  headquarters  at  Boston.  The  Union  is  now 
composed  of  delegates  appointed  by  the  churches  on  a 
fixed  basis.  The  most  important  business  is  transacted 
by  a  Board  of  Managers  (of  whom  one-third  are  elected 
at  each  annual  meeting),  and  an  Executive  Committee' 
chosen  by  this  Board. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

EVANGELISM    AND    EDUCATION 

AS  was  pointed  out  before,  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  periods  of  American  Baptist  history  is 
uncertain,  and  dates  cannot  be  positively  fixed.  Over- 
lapping the  period  of  rapid  growth  and  missionary  ex- 
tension, ending  at  the  latest  about  the  year  1850,  is  a 
movement  of  another  sort,  manifesting  itself  in  the 
spiritual  quickening  and  edification  of  the  churches.  For 
nearly  a  half-century  after  the  Great  Awakening  there 
had  been  no  marked  revivals  of  religion.  Then  a  great 
revival  wave,  beginning  in  New  England  about  the  year 
1790,  swept  over  the  whole  country  within  the  next  ten 
years.  In  the  Southwest  it  was  marked  by  a  fanaticism 
and  a  series  of  remarkable  physical  phenomena  that 
tended  to  bring  revivals  into  disfavor  with  the  sober- 
minded  and  judicious.  Thereupon  ensued  another  period 
of  inaction,  lasting  about  a  generation.  It  was  broken 
by  the  revivals  of  Finney,  through  whose  agency  in  the 
ten  years  following  1825  there  were  added  fully  one 
hundred  thousand  persons  to  the  Northern  Presbyterian 
churches.  The  year  1857  saw  an  even  more  remarkable 
wave  of  revival,  from  the  influence  of  which  no  part  of 
the  country  was  exempt,  and  a  half -million  are  said  to 
have  been  converted  in  a  single  year. 

Since  then  the  norm  of  church  life  seems  changed. 
No  longer  do  we  have  periodic  waves  of  intense  religious 
excitement,  with  intervening  periods  of  coolness  and  in- 
difference, but  a  slowly  rising  tide  of  spiritual  power. 
Progress  is  no  longer  by  occasional  leaps,  but  by  a  steady 
350 


EVANGELISM    AND   EDUCATION  35  I 

advance.  Evangelism  is  not  less  genuine  now  than  in 
the  days  when  a  Finney  or  a  Knapp  stirred  whole  com- 
munities as  they  never  were  stirred  before,  but  now  an 
evangelist  preaches  weekly  from  nearly  every  pulpit.  The 
type  of  preaching  has  changed ;  it  is  simple  and  direct ; 
it  aims  more  consciously  at  the  conversion  of  men.  It 
is  more  intelligently  adapted  to  reach  the  will  through 
the  intellect  and  affection,  and  to  produce  an  immediate 
decision  for  or  against  Christ.  Whether  the  change  is 
permanent  it  would  be  rash  to  pronounce.  The  names 
of  Moody  and  Sam  Jones,  unfitting  as  it  is  in  other 
ways  for  them  to  be  pronounced  together,  testify  to  the 
fact  that  both  at  the  North  and  at  the  South  it  is  still 
possible  to  interest  great  crowds  in  religion,  and  that 
occasional  revivals  may  be  expected  rivaling  all  that  we 
read  of  in  past  years. 

The  large  place  filled  by  local  and  State  work  during 
the  past  fifty  years  should  be  by  no  means  overlooked, 
for  it  is  one  of  the  chief  factors  in  Baptist  progress. 
The  State  Conventions  or  general  Associations  now  or- 
ganized in  every  State  are  missionary  bodies,  whose  use- 
fulness it  would  be  difficult  to  overrate.  In  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Convention  of  the  State  of  New  York,  one 
of  the  oldest  and  most  active  of  these  bodies,  will  be 
found  a  good  type  of  all.  The  object  of  this  Convention 
is  declared  in  its  constitution  to  be  "  To  promote  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  Baptist  churches  in  the  State  of  New  York ; 
to  encourage  the  common  educational  interests  of  the  de- 
nomination within  the  State,  the  general  care  and  en- 
couragement of  denominational  Sunday-school  work,  to 
promote  denominational  acquaintance,  fellowship,  and 
growth."  Forty-three  local  Associations  are  found  in 
the  territory  of  this  Convention.  Many  of  the  local  As- 
sociations— which    in   the    oldest    States    usually    follow 


352  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

county  lines — do  a  similar  work,  and  often  on  a  scale  not 
inferior  to  that  of  the  State  organization,  though  in  a 
field  more  circumscribed.  Of  these  the  Southern  New 
York  Association  is  a  good  type.  Organized  for  "  The 
cultivation  of  fraternal  sympathy,  the  promotion  of  each 
other's  spiritual  welfare,  and  the  establishment  and 
strengthening  of  Baptist  churches  within  its  bounds,"  its 
churches  have  long  maintained  efficient  city  mission  work 
in  the  metropolis,  to  which  is  largely  due  the  past  and 
present  growth  of  the  New  York  Baptists. 

Another  chief  distinguishing  feature  of  American  Bap- 
tist history  is  the  remarkable  development  of  educational 
work.  Almost  from  the  first,  Baptists  felt  the  necessity 
of  a  better  education  for  their  children,  and  especially 
for  the  rising  ministry.  An  academy  was  established  by 
the  Rev.  Isaac  Eaton,  at  Hopewell,  N.  J.,  in  1756,  and 
continued  its  work  for  eleven  years.  It  even  obtained 
a  small  endowment  through  the  aid  of  the  Philadelphia 
and  Charleston  Associations,  which  was,  however,  lost 
during  the  Revolution  through  the  depreciation  of  Con- 
tinental money.  During  the  continuance  of  its  work,  one 
of  its  pupils  was  James  Manning ;  his  conversion  occurred 
while  he  was  at  the  academy,  and  is  to  be  ascribed  under 
God  to  his  teacher.  If  the  Hopewell  Academy  had  done 
nothing  more  than  give  the  world  James  Manning,  it 
would  be  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  Baptists  for  all  time. 
But  it  also  gave  us  a  man  only  less  distinguished  and 
useful  than  he,  Hezekiah  Smith,  and  many  other  eminent 
ministers  and  laymen  were  among  its  pupils.  Similar 
private  schools  of  a  like  grade  were  established  in  other 
places  by  Baptists ;  among  them  one  at  Lower  Dublin 
(now  in  Philadelphia)  by  Dr.  Samuel  Jones,  one  in  New 
York  by  Doctor  Stanford,  and  one  at  Bordentown,  N.  J., 
by  Dr.  Burgess  Allison. 

About  1750  some  Baptists  in  the  Philadelphia  Associa- 


EVANGELISM  AND  EDUCATION  353 

tion  began  to  consider  seriously  the  project  of  founding 
a  higher  institution  of  learning.  Few  Baptist  students 
could  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  offered  by  the 
existing  colleges,  which  were  besides  strongly  anti-Bap- 
tist in  sentiment  and  often  in  teaching.  For  various 
reasons  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  a  charter  for  such  an 
institution  from  the  legislatures  of  New  York,  New  Jer- 
sey, or  Pennsylvania.  Consequently,  though  the  project 
for  the  new  college  originated  in  the  Philadelphia  As- 
sociation, the  eyes  of  the  brethren  were  turned  toward 
Rhode  Island  as  the  State  most  likely  to  grant  the  Bap- 
tists a  liberal  charter  for  a  college.  They  looked  about 
for  a  suitable  head  of  such  an  institution,  and  found  it 
in  James  Manning,  who  had  gone  in  1758  from  Hope- 
well Academy  to  Princeton  College,  and  was  graduated 
four  years  later  with  the  second  honors  of  his  class. 
Shortly  after  his  graduation  he  married  Margaret  Stites, 
the  daughter  of  a  ruling  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
in  Elizabethtown,  who  proved  "  an  help  meet  for  him  " 
indeed.  A  year  was  spent  in  travel  through  the  country, 
and  when  Manning  returned  he  found  his  life-work  ready 
for  him. 

Manning  was  a  young  man  to  take  the  lead  in  such  an 
enterprise,  it  is  true,  but  was  greatly  esteemed  for  his 
prudence  and  good  sense,  of  fine  presence  and  good  re- 
pute as  a  scholar,  in  every  way  fitted  to  be  an  educational 
leader.  He  met  the  Baptists  of  Rhode  Island,  or  some 
of  their  representative  men,  at  Newport,  in  July,  1763.: 
He  unfolded  his  plan,  and  it  met  with  their  acceptance. 
A  charter  was  drafted,  and  after  some  legislative  pitfalls 
were  successfully  avoided,  it  was  enacted  in  February, 
1764.  It  provided  that  the  president,  twenty-two  trus- 
tees, and  eight  fellows  were  forever  to  be  Baptists,  but 
the  remaining  trustees  of  the  thirty-six  were  to  be  of  the 
different  denominations  then  represented  in  the  State; 


354  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

while  four  fellows  were  to  be  elected  "  indifferently  of 
any  or  of  all  denominations."  To  all  positions  in  the  fac- 
ulty save  that  of  president,  and  to  all  other  honors  and 
advantages,  persons  of  all  religious  denominations  were 
to  be  freely  admitted.  Such  a  charter,  while  it  gave  to 
the  denomination  that  founded  the  institution  perpetual 
control  of  it  (as. was  but  right),  was  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  spirit  of  religious  liberty  that  had  characterized 
the  colony  of  Rhode  Island  from  the  first. 

The  college  began  giving  instruction  in  Warren  in 
1766,  Mr.  Manning  being  president  and  professor  of  lan- 
guages ;  and  that  year  the  institution  had  one  student. 
The  college  celebrated  its  first  commencement  September 
7,  1769,  when  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts  was  con- 
ferred on  seven  young  men.  In  1770  the  people  of 
Providence  subscribed  four  thousand  two  hundred  dol- 
lars for  the  erection  of  University  Hall,  and  the  college 
was  removed  to  that  city.  In  1776  the  capture  of  the 
city  by  the  British  made  necessary  the  suspension  of  in- 
struction, which  was  not  resumed  until  1780,  the-  college 
building  being  used  much  of  the  time  by  the  British  as 
a  barracks.  Doctor  Manning  continued  his  labors  as 
president  until  his  death,  in  1791.  During  the  greater 
portion  of  the  time  he  was  also  pastor  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church  of  Providence.  In  1804  the  name  of  the 
institution  (at  first  Rhode  Island  College)  was  changed 
to  Brown  University,  in  honor  of  Nicholas  Brown,  its 
generous  benefactor.  This,  the  oldest  and  best-known 
Baptist  institution  of  learning,  has  a  long  and  distin- 
guished roll  of  alumni  and  a  property  valued  at  two  and 
a  half  million  dollars,  besides  an  endowment  of  nearly 
three  millions. 

Very  soon  the  need  of  more  distinctively  theological 
education  was  felt,  but  for  some  time  nothing  was  done. 
The  Newton  Theological  Institution  owes  its  origin  to  a 


^^<^^<(*--»'r_- 


Page  354 


EVANGELISM  AND  EDUCATION  355 

meeting  of  ministers  and  laymen  held  in  Boston,  1825. 
Its  early  years  were  marked  by  difficulties  and  debt,  but 
at  length  a  permanent  endowment  was  secured.  It  has 
graduated  or  instructed  over  eight  hundred  students,  and 
among  its  alumni  are  many  of  the  most  useful  and  dis- 
tinguished preachers  and  teachers  of  the  denomination. 
Another  New  England  institution  is  Waterville  College, 
Maine,  which  was  founded  in  181 8  by  the  Rev.  Jeremiah 
Chaplin,  as  the  outcome  of  a  private  school  maintained 
by  him  at  Danvers.  The  collegiate  charter  was  granted 
in  1820.  The  early  history  of  the  institution  was  one  of 
continual  struggle  with  adversity,  but  of  late  years  it  has 
found  generous  friends.  In  recognition  of  the  benefac- 
tions of  one  of  these,  Gardner  Colby,  the  name  was 
changed,  in  1867,  to  Colby  University;  and  still  later  the 
ambitious  name  of  university  was  changed  into  the  more 
modest  and  truthful  title,  college. 

New  England  Baptists  have  been  wiser  in  their  day 
than  those  of  most  other  sections,  by  providing  liberally 
for  secondary  or  academic  education.  Thus  Colby  has 
three  IMaine  academies  closely  connected  with  it  as  feed- 
ers, while  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  have  each  a 
flourishing  academy.  Worcester  Academy,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  the  Suffield  Literary  Institute,  in  Connecti- 
cut, care  for  the  Baptist  youth  of  those  States,  and  are 
among  the  principal  sources  whence  Brown  University 
derives  students.  The  educational  system  of  New  Eng- 
land Baptists  therefore  stands  on  a  solid  foundation ; 
they  have  not  committed  the  error  of  resting  the  pyramid 
on  its  apex. 

In  the  IMiddle  and  Western  States,  and  to  some  extent 
in  the  South,  there  has  not  been  this  unity  of  action  in 
educational  matters.  Early  in  the  present  century  a  new 
development  of  interest  in  education  was  manifest  among 
the   Baptists   which   took   form   in   the   organization   of 


356  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

education  societies.  One  of  the  first  of  these  was  formed 
at  Hamilton,  N.  Y.,  in  1817,  and  the  following  year 
Jonathan  Wade  was  admitted  a  student  of  the  new  in- 
stitution. President  Garfield  said  once  that  his  idea  of 
a  college  was  Mark  Hopkins  at  one  end  of  a  log  and  a 
young  man  at  the  other.  That  was  about  how  the  Ham- 
ilton Literary  and  Theological  Institution  began ;  at  one 
end  was  Daniel  Hascall,  at  the  other  Jonathan  Wade. 
The  second  student  to  join  this  infant  institution  was 
Eugenio  Kincaid.  Soon  others  came,  and  in  1820  the 
institution  was  opened  to  the  public  and  formal  instruction 
began. 

Another  institution  that  belongs  to  this  early  period 
is  the  Columbian  College,  at  Washington.  It  owes  its 
origin,  like  so  many  of  our  best  denominational  agencies, 
to  the  Philadelphia  Association.  As  far  back  as  1807, 
Dr.  William  Staughton  began  to  receive  students  into  his 
household.  He  continued  this  work  for  a  series  of  years, 
partly  on  his  own  account,  partly  as  an  appointed  "  tutor  " 
of  the  Baptist  Education  Society  of  the  Middle  States. 
Finally,  at  the  instance  of  the  Rev.  Luther  Rice,  the 
General  Convention  took  the  matter  up,  and  undertook 
the  establishment  of  a  higher  institution  of  learning,  es- 
pecially for  the  training  of  ministers.  This  movement 
resulted  in  the  chartering  of  the  Columbian  College  (now 
University)  in  1821,  and  the  removal  of  Dr.  Staughton's 
school  to  Washington  as  the  "  theological  department  " 
of  the  new  college.  The  hope  of  establishing  a  school 
at  Washington  for  the  training  of  ministers  proved  futile, 
and  this  theological  department  was  finally  transferred 
to  Newton,  at  its  establishment  in  1825. 

The  school  at  Hamilton,  in  1834,  developed  into  the 
Hamilton  Literary  and  Theological  Institution.  In  1846, 
the  literary  department  was  chartered  as  a  university, 
its    name    being    changed    to    Madison    University,    the 


EVANGELISM   AND  EDUCATION  357 

theological  seminary  being  maintained  as  a  separate  insti- 
tution, but  in  harmony  with  the  college.  The  village  of 
Hamilton  was  thought  by  many  Baptists  to  be  an  unsuit- 
able site  for  a  denominational  school,  and  in  1847  an 
effort  was  made  to  remove  it  to  a  better  location. 

The  city  of  Rochester  offered  special  inducements,  and 
was  decided  upon  as  the  new  site.  But  a  party  rallied 
to  the  defense  of  the  old  site,  discussions  grew  warm, 
passionate  feelings  were  excited,  and  the  end  was  a  di- 
vision— part  of  the  faculty  and  supporters  going  to  found 
a  new  institution,  since  known  as  the  University  of 
Rochester.  The  new  institution  opened  its  doors  to  stu- 
dents in  1850.  April  6,  1853,  Martin  Brewer  Anderson 
was  chosen  president,  and  filled  the  ofifice  with  conspicu- 
ous ability  until  1888.  David  J.  Hill,  then  president  of 
Bucknell  University,  was  elected  his  successor,  and 
resigned  in  1895.  After  an  interregnum  of  several  years. 
Prof.  Rush  Rhees,  of  the  Newton  Theological  Institution, 
was  chosen  president,  and  assumed  his  duties  in  1900. 

The  Rochester  Theological  Seminary  was  an  outgrowth 
of  the  same  movement,  but  had  a  separate  existence  from 
the  first,  though  for  a  time  it  had  quarters  in  the  Uni- 
versity buildings,  and  some  men  taught  in  both  faculties. 
The  Seminary  was  founded  in  1850  by  the  New  York 
Baptist  Union  for  Ministerial  Education,  and  in  1853, 
Dr.  Ezekiel  G.  Robinson  was  elected  president.  At  his 
resignation,  in  1872,  Rev.  Augustus  Hopkins  Strong  was 
chosen  to  be  his  successor.  A  German  department  was 
organized  in  1854,  and  has  ever  since  been  maintained. 

In  the  meantime  the  friends  of  the  institution  at  Hamil- 
ton rallied  to  its  support  and  gradually  increased  its 
endowment.  The  family  of  William  Colgate  have  repeat- 
edly been  its  munificent  benefactors,  and  in  honor  of 
them  the  institution  was  named  Colgate  University  in 
1890.    Thus,  out  of  seeming  misfortune  has  come  some 


358  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

good.  Still  this  division  of  the  New  York  institution 
has  been  marked  by  a  corresponding  division  among  the 
churches,  part  of  which  have  supported  the  one  and  part 
the  other.  The  old  bitterness  has  somewhat  subsided  of 
late  years,  but  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  unfortunate 
that  the  present  generation  should  seem  willing  to 
perpetuate  divisions  caused  by  the  unwisdom  and 
contentiousness  of  their  fathers. 

This  experience  has  been  duplicated  in  several  West- 
ern States,  and  rival  institutions  have  been  founded  in 
excess  of  educational  needs,  with  the  result  of  making 
all  poor  and  inefficient,  where  a  single  strong  institution 
might  have  been  established.  So  serious  had  become  the 
lack  of  unity,  and  the  consequent  waste  of  money  and 
labor,  that  there  was  organized  at  Washington,  in  May, 
1888,  an  American  Baptist  Education  Society,  under 
whose  leadership  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  mistakes  of 
the  past  may  be  avoided.  Its  great  achievements  thus 
far  have  been  assisting  the  Southern  and  Western  insti- 
tutions to  add  to  their  endowments,  and  the  founding  of 
the  new  University  of  Chicago,  through  the  liberality 
of  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller.  Though  established  so  re- 
cently as  1890,  this  university  has  already  property 
amounting  to  nearly  or  quite  ten  millions  and  an  endow- 
ment of  nearly  equal  amount.  This  accomplishment  in 
so  short  a  period  may  be  justly  termed  phenomenal. 

We  can  do  little  more  than  name  the  principal  schools 
of  learning  founded  by  Baptists  during  the  last  half- 
century  ;  if  it  were  attempted  to  give  even  a  brief  sketch 
of  the  career  of  each,  these  chapters  would  stretch  out 
to  quite  unwieldy  proportions.  The  following  should 
at  least  be  named :  Baptist  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
Morgan  Park,  111.  (1867);^  Crozer  Theological  Sem- 
inary, Upland,  Pa.  (1868)  ;  Southern  Baptist  Theological 

1  Since   1890  the  Divinity  School  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 


EVANGELISM   AND  EDUCATION  359 

Seminary,  Louisville,  Ky.  (1858);  Bucknell  Univer- 
sity, Lewisburg,  Pa.  (1846);  Columbian  University, 
Washington,  D.  C.  (1821);  Richmond  College,  Rich- 
mond, Va.  (1832)  ;  Denison  University,  Granville,  Ohio 
(1832).  V^assar  College,  founded  in  1861,  at  Pough- 
keepsie,  N.  Y.,  by  the  beneficence  of  Matthew  Vassar,  is 
the  best  endowed  college  for  women  in  the  world.  The 
omission  of  other  names  does  not  imply  that  institutions 
equally  worthy  and  doing  excellent  work  do  not  exist  in 
many  parts  of  our  land. 

One  of  the  most  striking  things  in  the  recent  religious 
history  of  America  has  been  the  development  of  work 
among  and  for  the  young.  The  Sunday-school  was  es- 
tablished as  a  department  of  church  work  early  in  the 
present  century,  and  from  about  the  year  i860  societies 
for  young  people  began  to  be  formed  almost  simultane- 
ously in  most  of  the  evangelical  churches.  There  was 
nothing  like  a  concerted  movement,  however,  for  another 
twenty  years. 

In  the  Williston  Congregational  Church,  of  Portland, 
Me.,  a  society  was  formed  February  2,  1881,  to  which 
the  name  was  given  of  "  The  Society  of  Christian  En- 
deavor." It  attempted  to  organize  the  young  people  in 
a  closer  relation  to  the  church  than  had  been  general,  and 
to  train  them  for  Christian  service.  The  idea  was  catch- 
ing, and  societies  of  this  kind  were  rapidly  organized 
in  many  localities  and  among  various  denominations. 

Not  a  few  Baptist  pastors  desired  a  society  that  should 
be  more  distinctively  denominational  in  character,  and 
have  a  denominational  name ;  and  for  a  time  there  was 
much  discussion  and  even  prospect  of  serious  trouble  in 
the  denomination.  In  October,  1889,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Nebraska  State  Convention,  the  Nebraska  Convention 
of  Baptist  Young  People  was  organized,  and  all  societies 
of  Baptist  young  people  in  the   State  were  invited  to 


360  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

affiliate  with  it,  without  giving  up  the  name  or  form  of 
organization  that  they  preferred.  At  the  instance  of  the 
American  Baptist  PubHcation  Society  a  conference  of 
friends  of  the  work  was  held  in  Philadelphia,  April  22, 
1 89 1,  as  a  result  of  which  this  policy  was  commended  to 
the  Baptist  churches  at  large.  Accordingly,  at  Chicago, 
on  July  8  of  the  same  year,  the  Baptist  Young  People's 
Union  of  America  was  organized  on  a  basis  so  broad 
that  any  society  of  young  people  in  a  Baptist  church, 
or  the  young  people  of  a  Baptist  church  who  have  no 
organization,  are  entitled  to  all  its  privileges. 

The  distinctive  work  of  this  organization  is  educational. 
In  its  organ,  "  Service,"  it  publishes  every  year  three 
courses  of  study  on  the  Bible,  missions,  and  denom- 
inational teachings  and  history.  These  Christian  Cul- 
ture Courses  are  now  pursued  by  many  thousands  of 
young  Baptists,  the  number  of  students  increasing  every 
year,  and  several  of  the  courses  of  study  have  been  pub- 
lished in  permanent  book  form.  It  is  the  hope  and  ex- 
pectation that  the  coming  generation  of  Baptists  will  be, 
as  a  result  of  this  educational  work,  more  intelligent, 
consistent,  and  loyal  Baptists,  and  not  less  catholic  Chris- 
tians. Several  other  denominations  have  watched  this 
work  with  growing  interest,  and  are  planning  something 
of  a  similar  nature  for  their  own  young  people. 

Chief  among  the  educational  institutions  of  the  de- 
nomination may  be  reckoned  the  American  Baptist  Pub- 
lication Society.  Beginning  at  Washington,  D.  C,  in 
1824,  as  the  Baptist  General  Tract  Society,  its  transfer 
to  Philadelphia  was  voted  in  November,  1826.  In  1840 
its  name  was  changed  to  the  American  Baptist  Publica- 
tion and  Sunday-school  Society  (the  word  Sunday-school 
being  dropped  in  1844),  and  the  purposes  of  the  organi- 
zation were  enlarged,  being  now  defined  as  "  to  promote 
evangelical    religion    by    means    of    the    printing-press, 


EVANGELISM   AND  EDUCATION  361 

colportage,  and  the  Sunday-school."  In  1856  the  Society 
acquired  by  purchase  the  "  Young  Reaper,"  and  from  that 
time  added  other  Sunday-school  periodicals  to  its  list,  un- 
til it  has  reached  its  present  proportions  and  immense  cir- 
culation. In  the  earlier  years  of  the  Society,  its  work  of 
publication  was  necessarily  confined  in  the  main  to  books 
and  papers  for  Sunday-schools ;  but  it  was  never  a  part 
of  its  plan  thus  to  restrict  the  field  of  its  operations. 
As  early  as  1844,  the  publication  of  books  for  the  de- 
nomination at  large  was  begun  by  the  issue  of  an  Ameri- 
can edition  of  the  writings  of  Andrew  Fuller,  the  first 
of  a  long  list  of  books  of  the  highest  value  and  of  many 
varieties.  Contrary  to  a  general  impression  for  many 
years,  the  bulk  of  the  Society's  issues  has  been  in  this 
field  of  general  literature,  not  in  Sunday-school  publica- 
tions. With  the  increase  of  capital  and  the  gathering  of 
a  corps  of  authors,  the  Society  has  come  to  take  an  hon- 
orable and  prominent  place  among  the  great  publishing 
houses  of  the  United  States,  as  estimated  by  the  size  and 
value  of  its  annual  literary  output ;  while  the  enlargement 
and  improvement  of  its  mechanical  facilities  has  enabled  it 
to  vie  with  the  foremost  of  American  publishers  in  all  that 
constitutes  good  book-making.  The  query,  "  Who  reads 
a  Baptist  book?"  has  become  as  obsolete  as  that  other 
question,  once  so  provocative  of  wrath,  "  Who  reads  an 
American  book?"  Besides  its  colportage  work  in  this 
country,  the  Society  has  from  time  to  time  engaged  in 
foreign  colportage,  men  like  Oncken,  Wiberg,  and  Bickel 
having  been  aided  in  this  way  to  carry  on  missionary 
work  in  Europe.  Since  1862  this  work  has  been  con- 
ducted by  a  missionary  department,  with  separate  offices 
and  separate  accounts. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE   LAST   FIFTY    YEARS 

IN  order  to  appreciate  the  Baptist  history  of  the  past 
fifty  years,  we  must  first  of  all  gain  as  vivid  and  accu- 
rate a  picture  as  we  may  of  the  state  of  the  Baptist 
churches  of  America  at  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Naturally  our  first  resort  is  to  statistics,  but  we 
speedily  discover  that  no  really  trustworthy  figures  are 
accessible.^  The  only  statistics  of  the  denomination  for 
the  year  1850  are  taken  from  the  Baptist  Almanac  for 
the  following  year,  and  are  as  follows : 

CHURCHES      MINISTERS      MEMBERS 

Northern    3,557  2,665  296,614 

Southern  4,849  2,477  390,807 


Total   8,406  5,142  687,421 

These  figures  are  open  to  much  suspicion.  In  a  table, 
many  times  republished,  which  first  appeared  in  the  Bap- 
tist Year-Book  for  1872,  the  following  totals  are  given 
for  the  year  1851 :  Churches,  nine  thousand  five  hundred 
and  fifty-two ;  ministers,  seven  thousand  three  hundred 
and  ninety-three ;  members,  seven  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine.  So  great  an 
increase  in  a  single  year  as  is  shown  by  a  comparison 
of  these  figures,  particularly  in  the  number  of  churches 
and  ministers,  appears  quite  improbable.    We  may,  how- 

1  Until  1868,  when  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society  began  issuing 
the  "  Year  Book,"  nothing  like  official  denominational  statistics  were  known, 
and  it   is  only  in  an   accommodated   sense   that   the   "  Year   Book "   figures 
since  that  date  may  be  called  "  official." 
362 


THE    LAST    FIFTY    YEARS  363 

ever,  take  seven  hundred  thousand  as  approximately  the 
number  of  Baptists  in  the  United  States  in  1850.  The 
census  of  that  year  returned  the  total  population  as 
twenty-three  million  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  seventy-six.  There  was  at  that 
time,  therefore,  one  Baptist  to  about  thirty-two  persons 
in  the  population — reckoning  only  those  in  full  denomina- 
tional fellowship.  If  we  had  included  all  the  varieties  of 
Baptists  in  our  computation,  the  total  number  would  be- 
come not  fewer  than  eight  hundred  thousand  (the  Baptist 
Almanac  gives  eight  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  two 
hundred  and  twelve),  and  the  proportion  would  be  about 
one  in  twenty-nine  of  the  population.  This  was  a  very 
marked  increase  from  the  year  1800,  when  the  propor- 
tion is  supposed  to  have  been  one  Baptist  to  every  fifty- 
three  persons,  or  thereabouts.  It  is  further  to  be  noted 
that  in  making  these  comparisons,  only  actual  reported 
members  of  Baptist  churches  are  included.  If  we  com- 
puted "  adherents,"  at  the  rate  of  three  for  each  member, 
it  would  probably  be  true  that  in  1850  one  person  in 
each  eleven  of  the  population  was  a  Baptist  in  esse  or 
in  posse. 

But  even  if  one  could  trust  these  numerical  results  as 
precisely  accurate,  they  would  give  us  a  most  inadequate 
idea  of  the  condition  of  Baptists  in  1850.  We  need  to 
know  many  facts  besides  mere  numbers.  What  was  the 
measure  of  the  piety  and  intelligence  of  these  people? 
How  did  they  compare  in  evangelistic  and  missionary  zeal 
with  other  Christian  bodies?  Were  they  united  in  their 
efforts  or  disorganized  by  heresy  and  faction?  The  an- 
swer to  such  questions  as  these  will  go  further  to  decide 
the  strength  of  a  denomination  than  an  array  of  figures, 
however  imposing.  This  is  what  some  have  meant  by 
saying  that  a  denomination  must  not  only  be  counted,  but 
weighed. 


364  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  fact,  as  we  survey  the  de- 
nomination in  1850,  is  that  it  had  just  emerged  from  a 
period  of  prolonged  and  bitter  controversies,  which  had 
resulted  in  a  number  of  schisms.  In  spite  of  these  con- 
tests. Baptists  had  continued  to  increase  with  wonderful 
rapidity,  far  outstripping  the  growth  of  population,  and 
surpassed  in  numerical  increase  by  the  Methodists  alone 
of  all  American  Christians.  This  growth  was  not  due  to 
immigration,  as  in  the  case  of  many  religious  bodies ; 
nor  to  proselytism,  as  in  the  case  of  certain  others ;  but 
to  the  making  of  converts  among  the  native  population. 

As  to  the  state  of  piety  and  intelligence  among  Bap- 
tists in  1850,  it  is  not  easy  to  speak  in  general  terms  that 
will  be  at  once  accurate  and  just.  In  intelligence,  they 
may  be  conceded  to  have  been  inferior  to  some  other 
denominations,  notably  to  the  Presbyterians,  inferior  to 
the  standard  that  now  obtains  among  themselves.  It 
would  be  shame  to  them  if  it  were  not  so.  If  all  the 
educational  advantages  enjoyed  by  this  generation  have 
not  set  them  above  their  fathers,  then  those  fathers  toiled 
and  sacrificed  in  vain  for  unworthy  children.  The  stand- 
ard of  piety  was  high  among  the  Baptist  churches  of 
1850.  The  fathers  believed  heartily  in  the  fundamental 
Baptist  principle  of  a  regenerate  church ;  and  candidates 
for  membership  were  subjected  to  a  thorough  and  search- 
ing examination  of  the  grounds  of  their  belief  that  they 
had  been  born  again.  And  in  most  cases,  the  fathers  in- 
sisted strenuously  that  a  profession  of  regeneration  should 
be  avouched  by  a  godly  walk  and  conversation.  Dis- 
cipline was  not  one  of  the  lost  arts  among  Baptist 
churches  in  the  "  fifties." 

Most  important  of  all — at  any  rate,  most  striking  of 
all  things  that  may  be  said  of  the  Baptists  of  1850 — is 
the  fact  that  they  had  unconsciously  come  to  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  order  of  things.    Up  to  this  time,  or  near 


THE   LAST   FIFTY   YEARS  365 

it,  Baptists  had  been  the  sect  everywhere  spoken  against 
— the  Ishmael  among  denominations,  every  man's  hand 
against  it,  and  to  a  certain  extent  its  hand  against  every 
man.  Before  this.  Baptists  had  everywhere  been  few  in 
numbers,  composed  chiefly  of  what  are  contemptuously 
called  "  the  common  people,"  often  persecuted,  always 
despised,  frequently  unlearned.  Now  they  had  become 
the  largest  Protestant  body  but  one  in  the  United  States ; 
they  surpassed  most  other  bodies  in  the  scope  and  ef- 
fectiveness of  their  missionary  operations ;  they  were 
rapidly  increasing  in  wealth,  intelligence,  and  social  con- 
sequence. In  a  word,  it  was  actually  becoming  respect- 
able to  be  a  Baptist.  Only  those  who  have  carefully 
studied  the  beginnings  of  the  denomination,  in  our  own 
country  and  elsewhere,  can  fully  comprehend  how  much 
that  means.  Some  can  remember  communities  where, 
since  1850,  it  was  not  quite  respectable  to  be  a  Baptist — 
where  to  be  a  member  of  that  denomination  was  to  incur 
a  social  stigma  of  which  most  who  live  to-day  have  had 
no  personal  experience. 

Fifty  years  of  history — what  have  they  brought  forth 
for  the  Baptists  of  America?  We  are  to  consider  the 
half-century  most  wonderful  for  the  rapidity  of  its  ma- 
terial development  in  the  history  of  mankind,  and  the 
country  in  which  this  development  has  been  unmatched 
elsewhere  on  the  globe.  To  these  five  decades  belongs 
almost  wholly  the  growth  of  the  mighty  West,  with  its 
fourteen  new  Commonwealths  containing  a  greater  popu- 
lation to-day  than  the  whole  United  States  could  boast 
in  1810.  Nor  is  the  religious  development  of  this  vast 
region  one  whit  less  wonderful.  How  far  have  Baptists 
kept  pace  with  both? 

Again  let  us  have  recourse  to  statistics,  as  a  beginning. 
The  actual  population  of  the  United  States  in  1900 
was  seventy-four  million  six  hundred  and  ten  thousand 


366  A   SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

five  hundred  and  twenty-three,  or,  including  all  the 
Territories,  seventy-six  million  three  hundred  and  three 
thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty-seven.  The  denom- 
inational statistics  show  that  four  million  one  hundred 
and  eighty-one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-six  per- 
sons were  members  of  regular  Baptist  churches — or  one 
Baptist  to  every  eighteen  of  the  population.  If  we  add 
those  churches  which,  though  not  in  full  fellowship,  may 
be  fairly  said  to  hold  and  practise  Baptist  principles,  the 
proportion  is  about  one  in  sixteen.  If  we  add  "  adher- 
ents " — those  connected  with  Baptist  families,  congre- 
gations, Sunday-schools — one  person  in  every  seven  or 
eight  of  the  entire  population  may  be  reckoned  a  Baptist 
in  sentiment. 

In  the  way  of  numerical  increase,  what  could  be  more 
gratifying  to  a  religious  body?  The  population  has  in- 
creased about  three  and  one-third  fold  during  the  last 
half-century,  while,  in  the  same  time.  Baptists  have  in- 
creased in  numbers  almost  sixfold — nearly  twice  as  fast 
as  the  population. 

This  is  the  counting;  now  for  the  weighing.  Has  the 
increase  in  piety,  in  intelligence,  in  wealth,  in  missionary 
zeal,  kept  pace  with  this  growth  of  numbers  ?  In  many  of 
these  particulars,  if  not  in  all,  it  is  possible  to  answer 
the  question  with  an  emphatic  "  yes."  It  is,  in  truth, 
speaking  soberly,  to  say  that  the  numerical  increase  of 
Baptists  during  the  last  fifty  years  is  the  least  striking 
feature  of  their  history.  To  present  the  subject  with  any 
approach  to  adequate  fulness  would  require  a  volume ; 
but  it  is  possible,  even  within  the  limits  of  this  chapter, 
to  indicate  the  facts  that  warrant  this  assertion. 

Consider  then,  in  the  first  place,  the  progress  in  edu- 
cation made  by  the  denomination  in  fifty  years.  In  1850 
Baptists  had  in  the  East  five  institutions  of  collegiate 
grade:    Brown   University    (1764),    Waterville   College, 


THE  LAST   FIFTY   YEARS  367 

now  Colby  (1818),  Aladison  University,  now  Colgate 
(chartered  in  1846,  but  really  founded  in  1819),  Colum- 
bian University  (1821),  and  Lewisburg  University,  now 
Bucknell  (1846).  Most  of  these  names  were  prophecies, 
which  have  not  yet  been  fulfilled;  there  was  not  then, 
anywhere  in  the  United  States,  an  institution  that  de- 
served the  name  university.  The  combined  buildings 
and  endowments  of  the  five  institutions  named  would  be 
considered  in  these  days  not  too  large  a  "  plant "  for 
one  good  academy.  There  were,  in  addition,  two  theo- 
logical seminaries — that  at  Hamilton  (1817),  and  the 
Newton  Theological  Institution  (1825).  In  the  West 
and  South  there  were  sixteen  other  institutions  ^  of  nom- 
inally collegiate  grade  (several  of  which  were  not  in  re- 
ality above  academic),  all  struggling  to  keep  the  breath 
of  life  within  them,  all  practically  unendowed.  Possibly 
I  have  overlooked  some  institution  that  then  had  a  name 
to  live,  bt;t  had  little  else,  and  soon  ceaised  to  have  even 
that.  There  are  no  statistics  of  these  schools,  but  it  is 
hazarding  little  to  say  that  the  total  invested  funds  of  all 
would  not  have  exceeded  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
There  was  at  this  time  no  theological  institution  in  the 
West,  but  a  theological  department  was  maintained  at 
several  of  the  colleges  for  the  instruction  of  candidates 
for  the  Baptist  ministry. - 

The  provision  for  academic  education  was  even  more 
scanty  in  1850.  It  is  true  that  of  existing  Baptist  acade- 
mies, nine  were  established  prior  to  that  year,  and  that  an 
unknown  number  had  been  begun  and  had  come  to  an 

'^  These  are:  Baylor  College  and  Baylor  University  (both  1845),  Denison 
(1831),  Franklin  (1834),  Georgetown  (1829),  Howard  (1841),  Kalamazoo 
(1833),  Limestone  (S.  C,  1845),  Mercer  (1837),  Richmond  (1832),  Shurt- 
leff  (1827),  Southern  Female  College  (two  of  same  name,  both  Ala.,  1842, 
1843),  Southwestern  Baptist  University  (Tenn.,  1845),  Wake  Forest  (1843), 
William  Jewell    (1849). 

-  These  have  all  been  discontinued  except  the  one  at  Shurtleff,  but  a 
new  one  has  been  lately  established  at  Baylor. 


368  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF  THE    BAPTISTS 

untimely  end  before  that  date,  but  in  their  beginnings 
at  least  most  of  these  academies  were  private  schools, 
and  are  not  at  the  middle  of  the  century  to  be  reckoned 
among  denominational  facilities  for  education. 

The  year  1850  marks  the  beginning  of  a  really  great 
work  in  the  foundation  and  equipment  of  schools  of  learn- 
ing by  Baptists.  The  following  decade  saw  the  estab- 
lishment of  twenty-three  colleges  and  two  theological 
seminaries,  beginning  with  the  two  institutions  at  Roch- 
ester. In  the  "  sixties "  three  more  seminaries  were 
founded,  thus  completing  the  denominational  provision 
for  theological  education,  but  only  eight  colleges  were 
added,  three  of  which  were  schools  for  the  freedmen, 
established  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  The  last 
three  decades  have  been  the  period  of  most  rapid  increase 
in  educational  facilities.  The  "  seventies  "  saw  the  ad- 
dition of  fourteen  colleges,  of  which  six  were  for  the 
freedmen ;  in  the  "  eighties  "  twelve  colleges  were  es- 
tablished, only  one  of  which  was  for  the  Negro  race ; 
and  fifteen  colleges  have  been  added  during  the  last  ten 
years,  including  the  greatest  of  all  Baptist  institutions— 
the  University  of  Chicago. 

But  here  again  weighing  is  no  less  necessary  than 
counting,  for  the  mere  multiplying  of  institutions  is  not 
necessarily  educational  progress.  It  is  not  needful  to 
deny,  rather  would  one  affirm,  that  good  judgment  has 
not  always  been  characteristic  of  those  who  brought 
these  schools  into  being.  But  whatever  lack  of  wisdom 
Baptists  have  shown  in  the  founding  of  denominational 
colleges,  the  one  thing  that  is  not  shown  is  lack  of  ap- 
preciation of  the  value  of  higher  education.  And  there- 
fore, on  the  whole,  a  Baptist  has  no  reason  to  be  ashamed 
of  the  record.  The  zeal  to  found  has  in  most  cases  been 
followed  by  the  zeal  to  endow.  Of  the  ninety-two  schools 
of  collegiate  grade  now  existing,  it  is  true  that  fifty-three 


THE    LAST    FIFTY   YEARS  369 

are  wholly  without  endowment ;  but  on  examination  it 
proves  that  these  are  mainly  of  three  classes :  schools 
very  recently  founded,  schools  for  the  Freedmen,  and 
Southern  schools  for  young  women — which  last  have  al- 
ways depended  for  support  on  the  tuition  fees  received 
from  their  patrons,  like  the  "  seminaries "  for  young 
women  in  the  North.  All  but  about  half  a  dozen  of  the 
unendowed  colleges  come  under  one  of  these  heads. 

But  it  is  still  true  that  the  movement  to  secure  ade- 
quate endowment  for  these  institutions  has  been  com- 
paratively recent.  The  earliest  educational  statistics  are 
found  in  the  Baptist  Year-Book  for  1872.  According  to 
this  table,  there  were  then  nine  theological  schools  (two 
of  them  departments  in  colleges),  with  endowments 
amounting  to  one  million  sixty-nine  thousand  dollars 
(an  average  of  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars each  for  the  seminaries  proper),  and  other  prop- 
erty worth  eight  hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand  dol- 
lars. There  were  twenty-eight  colleges,  with  a  total  en- 
dowment of  two  million  three  hundred  and  seventeen 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-four  dollars  (an  average 
of  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  each),  and 
other  property  valued  at  two  million  six  hundred  and 
sixty-four  thousand  dollars.  There  is  no  report  of  aca- 
demic institutions,  but  such  a  report  appears  the  fol- 
lowing year  (1873).  Thirty-one  institutions  are  named 
(some  of  which  have  since  been  transferred  to  the  col- 
legiate list),  of  which  three  had  endowments  aggregating 
but  sixty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  the  rest  were  utterly 
unendowed ;  the  whole  number  reporting  property  valued 
at  one  million  two  hundred  and  three  thousand  seven 
hundred  dollars. 

The  statistics  for  1880  show  an  advance  that  is  highly 
gratifying,  but  hardly  surprising.  There  are  now  re- 
ported eight  theological  schools,  with  endowments  of  one 
y 


370  A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

million  three  hundred  and  thirty-seven  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-six  dollars,  and  property  amounting 
to  one  million  seven  hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  four  dollars ;  thirty-one  colleges,  with  three 
million  two  hundred  and  forty-three  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  forty  dollars  in  endowments,  and  other  prop- 
erty valued  at  seven  million  three  hundred  and  thirty-six 
thousand  and  seventy-four  dollars ;  forty-nine  schools  of 
academic  grade,  with  four  hundred  and  twenty-two  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars  endowment,  and 
two  million  five  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  one  hun- 
dred dollars  in  other  property.  In  the  next  decade  the 
advance  is  yet  more  notable.  In  1890  the  tables  show 
seven  seminaries  with  endowments  almost  double  those 
of  1872  (two  million  sixty-nine  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  one  dollars),  while  the  other  property  very  little  ex- 
ceeded that  reported  in  1872  (nine  hundred  and  forty-six 
thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars).  This 
last  rather  surprising  item  proves,  on  analysis,  to  be  due 
to  more  conservative  estimates  of  the  value  of  the  prop- 
erty. For  example,  Newton  reported  buildings  and  other 
property  to  the  value  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars 
in  1872,  but  in  1890  these  are  set  down  at  only  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-six  thousand  three  hundred  dollars. 
There  are  also  tabulated  returns  from  thirty-one  colleges, 
with  endowments  of  five  million  five  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-one  dollars,  and 
other  property  worth  four  million  eight  hundred  and 
thirty-one  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars ;  thirty-two 
schools  for  women  only,  having  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy-seven  dollars  in 
endowment,  and  two  million  seventy-one  thousand  and 
thirty-eight  dollars  in  general  property ;  forty-six  acad- 
emies with  seven  hundred  and  fifty-eight  thousand  six 
hundred    dollars    endowments    and    one    million    eight 


THE   LAST   FIFTY   YEARS  371 

hundred  and  sixty  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighteen 
dollars  in  property;  besides  seventeen  schools  for  the 
Freedmen  and  Indians,  with  only  nominal  endowments, 
amounting  in  all  to  fifty-four  thousand  six  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  other  property  valued  at  eight  hundred  and  two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars. 

But  it  is  in  the  last  ten  years  that  the  really  surprising 
progress  has  been  made.  The  endowment  of  the  sem- 
inaries has  reached  two  million  five  hundred  and  eighty- 
six  thousand  and  sixty-five  dollars,  and  their  other  prop- 
erty is  valued  at  two  million  two  hundred  and  forty-four 
thousand  and  fifty-one  dollars.  Here  the  greatest  in- 
crease has  been  in  providing  adequate  material  facilities, 
in  buildings,  libraries,  etc.  The  universities  and  colleges 
now  report  endowments  of  fourteen  million  four  hundred 
and  forty-two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seven  dollars, 
and  other  property  to  the  amount  of  fifteen  million  two 
hundred  and  forty-nine  thousand  and  fifty-eight  dollars. 
Even  subtracting  the  large  sums  credited  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  it  is  found  that  both  endowments  and 
other  property  have  been  just  about  doubled  during  the 
past  decade.  The  academies  now  have  endowments  of 
one  million  four  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  four 
hundred  and  seventy-three  dollars,  and  other  equipment 
worth  three  million  four  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand 
four  hundred  and  seventy-three  dollars — sums  inadequate, 
it  is  true,  but  marking  an  immense  advance. 

It  would  be  less  than  just  not  to  point  out  that  a  chief 
factor  in  this  progress  has  been  the  agency  of  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Education  Society,  organized  in  1888,  and 
the  grants  made  through  this  society  by  a  single  Baptist, 
Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller.  What  he  has  given  personally, 
and  what  his  gifts  have  impelled  others  to  contribute, 
together  constitute  the  major  part  of  the  increased 
endowments  of  the  past  decade. 


372  A.    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Altogether,  American  Baptists  have  to-day  invested  in 
their  educational  institutions  the  enormous  sum  of  forty- 
four  million  dollars,  of  which  fully  half  is  in  productive 
endowments,  and  almost  the  whole  of  which  is  the  ac- 
cumulation of  the  last  fifty  years.  But  not  only  has  there 
been  this  great  material  development,  the  standard  of 
education  has  also  risen  proportionately ;  educational 
ideals  and  educational  methods  are  far  higher  than  a 
generation  ago — so  much  higher  that  work  that  made  a 
man  a  valedictorian  when  some  of  us  were  students  would 
not  insure  his  graduation  to-day.  In  all  that  constitutes 
a  liberal  education,  as  well  as  professional  and  technical, 
Brown  University  in  the  East  and  the  University  of 
Chicago  in  the  West  must  now  be  reckoned  as  standing 
among  the  very  first  American  universities.  And  Bap- 
tist colleges,  attempting  the  less  ambitious  task  of  giving 
to  young  men  only  that  course  in  the  arts  and  sciences 
that  is  crowned  by  the  baccalaureate  degree,  are  to-day, 
as  they  have  been  from  the  first,  fully  abreast  of  the 
more  famous  institutions.  Man  for  man,  these  colleges 
have  always  sent  out  graduates  in  every  way  as  well 
equipped  as  those  that  have  gone  from  the  most  re- 
nowned halls  of  learning;  and  in  the  hard  push  of  life  it 
has  not  often  been  their  alumni  who  have  gone  to  the  wall. 

How  far  have  the  people  taken  advantage  of  these 
facilities?  This  may  be  quickly  answered.  In  1872  there 
were  in  all  Baptist  schools  two  thousand  four  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  students;  in  1873  there  were  also  four 
thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  academic  students 
— making  a  total  of  six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  four. 
In  1880  there  were  nine  thousand  five  hundred  and 
twenty-four;  in  1890  the  number  had  risen  to  twenty 
thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-one,  while  in  1900  it  is 
reported  as  thirty-eight  thousand  and  twenty.  Nothing 
can  be  more  gratifying  than  to  see  the  eagerness  of  the 


THE   LAST    FIFTY    YEARS  373 

youth  of  our  denomination,  and  outside  of  it,  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  increased  faciUties  for  education  that  have 
been  provided.  If  so  much  space  has  been  given  to  edu- 
cational development,  it  is  because  this  is  really  the  most 
impressive  thing  in  the  Baptist  history  of  the  past  fifty 
years. 

It  is  time  to  give  our  attention  to  the  advance  in  mis- 
sionary zeal  that  has  marked  the  same  period.  Let  us 
first  consider  the  progress  of  foreign  missions,  so  far  as  it 
is  marked  by  definite  results.  In  1850  there  were  in  Bap- 
tist Asiatic  missions  sixty-nine  churches,  with  seven  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  twenty-one  members;  by  i860  they 
had  increased  to  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight  churches, 
with  fifteen  thousand  six  hundred  and  fourteen  members ; 
in  1870  these  had  become  three  hundred  and  seventy-two 
churches,  and  eighteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty 
members;  in  1890  there  were  seven  hundred  and  forty- 
three  churches  and  seventy-five  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty-four  members — a  rate  of  increase  seldom,  if 
ever,  paralleled  in  the  history  of  the  denomination ;  and 
for  1900  the  figures  are:  churches,  eight  hundred  and 
forty-four;  members,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  twenty-nine.  In  recent  years  African 
missions  have  been  added,  with  twelve  churches  and  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-five  members.  This 
survey  does  not  include  missions  to  the  nominally  Chris- 
tion  lands  of  Europe.  In  1850  there  were  in  such  mis- 
sions fifty-nine  churches  and  three  thousand  and  thirty- 
eight  members,  of  which  number  two  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred were  in  Germany,  where  ten  times  that  number  of 
Baptists  are  now  reported — viz.,  twenty-eight  thousand 
six  hundred  and  forty-one.  Since  that  time  there  have 
been  many  fluctuations  in  the  fortunes  of  these  missions, 
some  having  been  abandoned  altogether,  others  pursued 
fitfully,    so    that    comparison    by    decades    would    be 


374  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

misleading  without  elaborate  explanation  of  the  figures. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  in  1900  there  are  reported  in  con- 
nection with  European  Baptist  missions  nine  hundred  and 
fifty-one  churches  and  one  hundred  and  five  thousand  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  members. 

If  we  consider  the  advance  in  the  annual  gifts  of  the 
denomination  for  this  work,  as  a  practical  mark  of  in- 
crease in  zeal,  results  are  not  greatly  different.  In  1850 
the  total  receipts  of  the  A.  B.  M.  U.  were  eighty-seven 
thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-seven  dollars;  in  i860 
they  had  risen  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand 
four  hundred  and  twenty-six  dollars;  in  1870  they  were 
one  hundred  and  ninety-six  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
ninety-seven  dollars;  and  in  1880,  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
two  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-seven  dollars. 
Then  there  was  a  great  leap  to  four  hundred  and  fifteen 
thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-four  dollars  in  1890, 
which  has  become  six  hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-four  dollars  in  1900. 

In  five  decades,  therefore,  the  members  of  these  mis- 
sionary churches  have  doubled  nearly  four  times,  and  the 
income  of  the  Society  has  doubled  three  times.  In  the 
same  period  the  supporters  of  the  Society  have  hardly 
doubled  twice.  The  growth  of  the  denomination  in  mis- 
sionary zeal,  and  in  the  fruitfulness  of  its  work,  has  far 
outstripped  its  progress  in  mere  numbers.  It  is  doubt- 
less true  that  much  more  might  have  been  accomplished, 
but  the  bitter  reproaches  of  their  denomination  in  which 
writers  and  speakers  sometimes  indulge  might  well  be 
softened  in  view  of  these  facts. 

If  now  we  turn  to  home  missions,  we  meet  the  initial 
difficulty  that  it  is  not  possible  to  compute  numerically 
the  results  of  this  work  on  the  growth  of  the  denomina- 
tion, because  the  churches  established  by  the  agency  of 
this  Society  have  soon  taken  their  places  in  the  regular 


I'age  374 


I'hk  IIay^iack  .Mom. men  1 


THE    LAST    FIFTY    YEARS  375 

Statistical  column  of  the  denomination,  and  have  no  longer 
been  reckoned  separately.  We  can  for  the  most  part 
only  apply  the  financial  tests,  and  assume  a  fairly  con- 
stant rate  of  fruitfulness.  In  1850  the  total  income  of  the 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  was  twenty- 
five  thousand  two  hundred  and  one  dollars;  by  i860  it 
had  nearly  doubled — forty-four  thousand  six  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  dollars ;  but  after  the  Civil  War  a  great 
advance  was  made,  largely  on  account  of  the  new  in- 
terest felt  in  the  freedmen's  work,  and  the  income  became 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  and  thirty-two  dol- 
lars. Since  then  a  constant  and  large  rate  of  increase 
has  been  maintained:  in  1880  the  income  rose  to  two 
hundred  and  seventeen  thousand  and  ninety-three  dollars ; 
by  1890  it  became  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  fifty-four  dollars,  and  in  1900  it 
is  returned  at  four  hundred  and  sixty-one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  one  dollars.  In  1850  there  were  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  laborers  employed,  a  number  that  has  grad- 
ually risen  to  one  thousand  and  ninety-two.  In  the  fifty 
years  just  closed,  four  thousand  six  hundred  and  five 
churches  have  been  organized  by  the  agents  of  this  So- 
ciety— nearly  one-tenth  of  the  net  increase  of  Baptist 
churches  in  the  whole  United  States  during  that  period. 
The  special  work  of  Baptist  women  for  missions  has 
been  a  development  of  the  last  thirty  years.  In  1871 
the  Women's  Baptist  Foreign  Missionary  Societies  were 
organized,  one  for  the  East,  with  headquarters  at  Bos- 
ton ;  one  for  the  West,  with  headquarters  at  Chicago. 
Both  societies  have  sustained  auxiliary  relations  with  the 
Missionary  Union — the  women  nominating  missionaries 
and  designating  funds,  the  Union  appointing  the  mis- 
sionaries and  disbursing  the  funds.  Similar  relations  to 
the  Home  Mission  Society  are  sustained  by  the  Women's 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  of  the  East,  formed  in 


yjd  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF   THE    BAPTISTS 

1877,  with  headquarters  at  Boston;  but  the  hke  society 
for  the  West,  formed  the  same  year,  and  having  its  head- 
quarters at  Chicago,  has  from  the  first  maintained  a  com- 
plete independence,  making  its  own  appointments  and 
managing  its  own  affairs.  This  last  society  maintains  a 
missionary  training  school.  It  was  prophesied  that  the 
formation  of  these  separate  societies  for  women  would 
divide  missionary  interest  and  divert  funds  from  the 
older  societies.  Experience  shows  that  whatever  may  be 
accomplished  in  this  direction  finds  ample  compensation 
in  the  general  increase  of  intelligent  interest  in  missions, 
and  the  consequent  growth  of  contributions  to  all  causes. 

Thus  far  facts  have  been  given  relating  only  to  the  op- 
erations of  our  Northern  societies.  Similar  facts  are  not 
accessible  regarding  the  work  done  by  the  Southern  Bap- 
tist Convention.  No  statistics  regarding  foreign  missions 
have  been  discovered  prior  to  1890,  in  which  year  there 
were  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  mem- 
bers reported,  which  have  increased  in  a  single  decade 
to  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-seven.  The 
receipts  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  regularly  increased 
up  to  1890,  when  they  reached  one  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-four  dollars ;  since 
then  there  has  been  a  decided  falling  off  every  year  (one 
hundred  and  nine  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
dollars  reported  in  1900).  The  Home  Mission  Board  re- 
ported contributions  of  sixteen  thousand  two  hundred 
dollars  in  1880,  sixty-nine  thousand  three  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  dollars  in  1890,  and  sixty-one  thousand  two 
hundred  dollars  in  1900.  Inasmuch  as  the  work  only 
began  in  1850,  and  was  not  vigorously  prosecuted  before 
1880,  the  ratio  of  increase  in  the  missionary  operations 
of  the  Southern  churches  shows  an  excess  over  that  of 
the  Northern  societies. 

This  has  been  a  period   also  of  expansion,   in   many 


THE   LAST    FIFTY    VEAKS  377 

directions,  in  the  Society's  work.  In  1852  the  church  edi- 
fice department  was  estabHshcd,  at  first  with  the  object 
of  making  loans  exckisively  to  churches  in  the  West,  but 
since  1881,  gifts  outright  have  been  made  in  the  larger 
number  of  cases.  By  the  close  of  the  century,  over  two 
thousand  churches  had  been  aided,  about  seventeen  hun- 
dred of  these  within  the  past  twenty  years.  The  growth 
of  educational  work  among  the  freedmen  since  the  Civil 
War  has  already  been  described.  The  eleven  schools  con- 
trolled by  the  Society  have  buildings  and  equipment  val- 
ued at  over  a  million  dollars,  and  productive  endowment 
amounting  to  over  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  thousand 
dollars.  Missions  have  been  established  and  are  main- 
tained among  our  various  foreign-born  citizens,  those  es- 
pecially flourishing  being  among  the  French  of  New  Eng- 
land, the  Germans,  Scandinavians,  Italians,  and  Spanish. 
A  mission  to  Mexico  was  begun  in  1870.  which  has  had  a 
fair  degree  of  success  and  promises  to  accomplish  much 
more.  The  acquisition  of  Porto  Rico  and  our  intimate 
relations  with  Cuba  opened  new  and  interesting  fields  just 
as  the  century  closed,  which  the  twentieth  century  will  see 
occupied  and  developed. 

Though  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society  was 
founded  as  a  tract  society  as  early  as  1824,  and  reorgan- 
ized as  a  general  publishing  house  in  1840,  almost  the 
whole  of  its  labors  belong  to  the  period  under  considera- 
tion. The  active  history  of  the  Society  begins  with  its  ac- 
quisition of  a  building  in  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  in 
1850,  and  the  election  of  Benjamin  Griffith  as  secretary 
in  1857  marks  a  further  step  forward.  Thenceforward 
progress  was  rapid.  In  1869  the  prosperity  of  the  busi- 
ness warranted  the  establishment  of  branches  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities,  to  which  others  have  since  been  added.  Other 
events  of  great  importance  were  the  beginning  of  the 
chapel-car  work  in  1891,  the  erection  of  the  new  printing 


378  A   SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

house  in  1896,  and  the  completion  of  the  fine  main  build- 
ing in  1898.^  There  have  been  over  two  thousand  eight 
hundred  publications  issued  by  the  Society,  of  which 
eight  hundred  and  twelve  million  copies  have  been 
printed.  From  the  profits  of  the  business,  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  has  been  paid  to  the  missionary 
department,  which  has  received  and  expended  altogether 
three  million  three  hundred  and  forty-three  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  colporters  and  missionaries  thus  employed 
have  been  instrumental  in  the  organizing  of  eleven  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  sixty-one  Sunday-schools  and  one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  fifteen  churches.  The  total 
assets  of  the  Society  have  increased  during  the  fifty  years 
from  almost  nothing  to  a  million  and  a  half,  and  its  an- 
nual transactions  amount  to  little  short  of  a  million 
dollars. 

Has  the  denomination  increased  in  wealth  as  rapidly  as 
in  numbers  during  the  half-century?  We  have  inade- 
quate means  of  answering  this  question  with  the  definite- 
ness  desirable,  since  facts  of  the  sort  required  were  not 
recorded  until  a  comparatively  late  day.  The  first  at- 
tempt to  gather  and  tabulate  the  general  financial  statistics 
of  the  denomination  was  made  in  the  Year-Book  for 
1880.  A  good  measure  of  the  increase  of  denominational 
wealth  is  the  valuation  of  church  property.  In  1885  this 
was  twenty-six  million  six  hundred  and  eighty-five  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  and  fifty-nine  dollars ;  in  1890  the 
figures  rose  to  fifty-eight  million  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  dollars — part 
of  which  increase  was  doubtless  due  to  the  better  gath- 
ering of  the  facts.  In  1900  there  is  reported  eighty- 
six  million  six  hundred  and   forty-eight  thousand  nine 

1  This  building  has  since  been  sold,  at  a  large  profit  to  the  Society,  and 
a  new  structure  will  be  erected  in  the  near  future,  still  better  adapted  to 
the  business  and  missionary  needs  of  the  Society. 


THE    LAST    FIFTY    YEARS  379 

hundred  and  eighty-two  dollars.  Another  fair  measure 
is  the  annual  expenditure  in  maintaining  public  worship. 
This  in  1885  was  four  million  seven  hundred  and  two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty-one  dollars;  in  1890 
it  was  six  million  nine  hundred  thousand  two  hundred 
and  sixty-six  dollars;  and  for  1900  the  figures  are  nine 
million  six  hundred  and  twenty-two  thousand  and  sixty- 
six  dollars.  Another  measure  of  wealth,  as  well  as  of 
zeal,  is  the  total  contributions  for  missionary  purposes : 
in  1885,  six  hundred  and  sixty-one  thousand  one  hundred 
and  sixty-six  dollars ;  in  1890,  one  million  ninety-two 
thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy-one  dollars ;  and  in 
1900,  one  million  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine  dollars.  The  totals  of  con- 
tributions for  all  purposes  will  be  regarded  by  many  as  the 
most  satisfactory  test  of  relative  ability  to  give.  In  1885 
these  were  six  million  five  hundred  and  seventy-nine  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  seventy-two  dollars;  in  1890,  ten 
million  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-nine  dollars ;  and  in  1900,  twelve  million 
three  hundred  and  forty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  dollars.  Allowing  for  the  imperfect  gath- 
ering of  facts  at  first,  it  would  appear  that  the  property 
of  the  denomination  has  tripled  within  fifteen  years,  while 
its  annual  contributions  for  all  purposes  have  more  than 
doubled.  In  the  same  time  the  membership  has  increased 
about  sixty  per  cent.  Applying  every  practicable  test, 
we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  denomination  has 
increased  in  wealth  fully  twice  as  fast  as  in  numbers. 

The  close  of  this  half-century  sees  Baptists  not  only 
greater,  richer,  wiser,  better  organized,  but  more  united, 
than  at  any  previous  time  in  their  history.  It  sees  them 
also  enjoying  greatly  improved  relations  with  other  de- 
nominations— convictions  respected,  distinctive  principles 
better  understood,  and  in  cases  not  a  few,  tacitly  admitted 


380  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

or  even  accepted.  Controversy  has  nearly  disappeared, 
jealousy  is  less  frequently  manifested.  Alutual  respect, 
comity,  co-operation,  are  the  rule ;  and  if  the  organic 
union  of  all  Christians,  of  which  some  have  prophesied, 
must  be  regarded  by  the  sober-minded  as  "  such  stuff  as 
dreams  are  made  on,"  some  form  of  federation  in  evan- 
gelistic and  missionary  effort  is  certainly  one  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  present  century. 

Certain  counter-currents  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  in 
this  study  of  Baptist  progress.  The  unity  of  the  denom- 
ination in  its  doctrinal  and  practical  teaching  has  been 
the  boast  of  its  members  and  the  wonder  of  others.  Ap- 
parently a  rope  of  sand,  each  church  independent  of  every 
other  in  theory,  and  to  a  great  extent  in  practice,  it  has 
not  been  the  inferior  in  coherence  of  bodies  that  have 
a  strong  centralized  government.  The  reason  of  this  is 
not  far  to  seek:  it  has  been  the  close  adherence  of  the 
Baptist  churches  to  their  understanding  of  the  teaching 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  their  loyal  acceptance  of  this  teach- 
ing as  the  supreme  authority  in  all  matters  of  religion. 
It  is  not  putting  it  too  strongly  to  say  that  Baptists  from 
the  beginning  of  their  separate  history  have  been  fully 
conscious  that  they  had  no  justification  for  a  separate 
existence  except  this  loyalty  to  what  they  believed  the 
Scriptures  to  teach,  and  their  conviction  that  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Scriptures  must  be  followed  at  all  cost.  But 
the  last  decades  of  the  closing  century  have  seen  a  very 
considerable  weakening  among  them  of  this  conviction, 
some  important  modifications  of  their  understanding  of 
what  the  Scriptures  are  and  what  they  teach.  If  this 
weakening  should  become  general,  there  cannot  fail  to  be 
a  great  denominational  disintegration.  The  historian  can 
only  record  what  has  been  and  what  is ;  to  tell  what  shall 
be  is  the  ofifice  of  the  prophet. 

As  has  already  been  implied,  there  has  been  a  decline 


THE    LAST    FIFTY    YEARS  38 1 

in  the  discipline  maintained  among  Baptist  churches,  as 
serious  as  it  is  great.  In  the  majority  of  churches  in 
the  cities,  exckisions  are  practically  unknown  except  for 
some  notorious  wickedness.  Even  in  cases  of  notorious 
wickedness,  there  is  often  complete  immunity  for  the  of- 
fender. Little  serious  attempt  is  made  to  exercise  over- 
sight of  the  lives  of  members,  and  to  hold  them  to  account- 
ability for  departures  from  even  a  moderate  standard  of 
Christian  ethics.  The  place  of  exclusion  has  been  taken 
by  a  new  practice,  called  "  dropping,"  by  which  is  meant 
the  simple  erasure  of  a  name  from  the  roll  of  member- 
ship, no  stigma  of  any  kind  attaching  to  the  person  so 
dropped,  with  no  inquiry,  no  charges,  and  of  course  no 
examination  or  trial.  This  growing  practice  threatens  to 
become  universal  in  much  less  than  another  half-century, 
with  results  on  the  spiritual  efficiency  of  the  churches 
and  the  personal  piety  of  their  members  that  cannot  fail 
to  be  most  disastrous.  Nothing  can  explain  such  disuse 
of  discipline  but  a  general  weakening  of  moral  fiber. 
This  is  an  alarming  phenomenon,  and  goes  far  to  offset 
all  that  has  been  recorded  of  material  and  spiritual 
progress. 

There  has  been  a  notable  change  in  the  character  of 
preaching,  and  in  the  methods  of  church  work,  during  the 
past  fifty  years.  In  these  things,  however.  Baptists  are  in 
no  way  peculiar ;  they  have  but  shared  in  the  change  that 
has  come  over  American  Christianity  as  a  whole,  and  it  is 
only  the  conservative  that  views  all  change  with  alarm 
who  will  see  necessary  evil  in  this  change.  One  impor- 
tant result  is,  however,  worthy  of  specific  mention.  Owing 
to  the  increasing  infrequency  of  revivals,  and  the  decline 
of  the  older  evangelism,  the  majority  of  the  converts  are 
now  received  into  the  churches  through  the  Sunday- 
school  and  the  young  people's  society ;  the  conversion  of 
adults  becomes  with  every  decade  increasingly  rare.     It 


382  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

is  yet  too  soon  to  measure  the  effects  of  this  great  change 
upon  denominational  Hfe  and  character. 

Another  striking  result  of  the  past  fifty  years  has  been 
the  great  development  of  the  denominational  societies. 
These,  nominally  the  creatures  and  servants  of  the 
churches,  have  become  in  fact  great  independent  corpora- 
tions that  control  the  churches,  so  far  as  their  united 
efforts  in  missionary  and  educational  enterprises  are  con- 
cerned. The  annual  meetings  of  these  societies  are  in 
theory  composed  of  delegations  from  the  supporting 
churches ;  in  fact,  they  are  mass  meetings  composed  of 
any  who  care  to  attend.  The  officials  seldom  have  any 
trouble  in  directing  such  a  meeting  into  any  channel 
agreeable  to  them.  The  officials  are  men  of  high  char- 
acter and  practical  wisdom,  and  the  affairs  of  the  corpora- 
tions have  been  most  wisely  managed ;  but  the  inevitable 
result  of  the  system  has  been  a  growing  estrangement 
of  the  churches  from  the  societies  and  the  work  that  they 
represent.  Year  by  year  the  difficulty  becomes  greater, 
and  just  how  it  is  to  be  surmounted  is  the  greatest  prob- 
lem the  Baptist  denomination  has  at  present  to  solve. 
A  sentiment  is  growing  in  favor  of  the  unification  of 
Baptist  societies  into  something  resembling  the  old  Tri- 
ennial Convention,  and  the  making  of  this  Convention 
a  strictly  delegated  body,  so  that  all  the  denominational 
enterprises  shall  be  once  more,  in  fact  and  not  in  theory 
only,  subordinated  to  the  churches.  Whether  this  senti- 
ment will  prevail  is  one  of  the  questions  that  the 
twentieth  century  must  be  left  to  decide. 

What  manner  of  men  ought  they  to  be  who  have  en- 
tered upon  the  great  opportunities  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury, the  inheritors  of  such  a  history?  What  boundless 
possibilities  of  growth,  of  achievement,  lie  before  them ! 
How  much  Baptists  may  and  should  do  to  hasten  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God !     How  great  will  be 


THE   LAST    FIFTY    YEARS  383 

their  condemnation  if,  having  this  wealth  of  opportunity 
in  their  hands,  they  squander  it  selfishly,  or  slothfully 
fail  to  make  of  the  ten  talents  intrusted  to  them  other 
ten  that  they  may  present  with  joy  to  their  Lord  at  his 
coming ! 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

BAPTISTS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES — IRREGULAR  BAPTIST 
BODIES 

THUS  far  we  have  considered  only  the  "  Regular  " 
Baptists  in  the  United  States.  There  are  numerous 
other  bodies  that  agree  with  these  "  Regular  "  Baptists 
in  their  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  constitution  of  the 
church  and  the  nature  of  baptism.  Any  Christian  body 
that  practises  believers'  baptism — meaning  by  "  baptism  " 
immersion,  and  by  "  believer  "  one  who  gives  credible 
evidence  of  regeneration — is  fundamentally  Baptist,  by 
whatever  name  it  may  be  called,  or  whatever  may  be  its 
oddities  of  doctrine  or  practice  in  other  respects. 

The  earliest  of  the  irregular  Baptist  bodies — and  the 
term  "  irregular "  is  used  simply  as  a  distinguishing 
epithet,  with  no  idea  of  disparagement — are  various  or- 
ganizations that  differ  somewhat  among  themselves,  but 
agree  in  holding  an  Arminian  theology.  The  first  of 
these  to  become  definitely  organized  were  the  Six-prin- 
ciple Baptists.  They  have  existed  in  Rhode  Island  from 
1639,  some  of  the  original  members  of  the  church  founded 
at  Providence  by  Roger  Williams  seemingly  having  been 
of  that  persuasion.  From  1670  they  have  held  a  definite 
standing,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  their  yearly  meeting  in 
New  England  was  the  second  organization  of  the  kind 
to  be  formed.  A  second  yearly  meeting  or  Association 
was  afterward  formed  in  Pennsylvania,  where  it  still  ex- 
ists, with  a  membership  of  five  churches.  In  all,  this 
body  has  but  eighteen  churches  and  not  a  thousand 
members. 
384 


BAPTISTS   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES  3^5 

In  1729  a  number  of  Baptist  churches  in  North  Caro- 
hna  that  held  Arminian  notions  joined  in  an  Association. 
Some  of  these  afterward  became  "  Regular,"  and  the  rest 
were  popularly  known  as  "  Freewillers."    This  name  was 
accepted  after  a  time  as  a  fitting  one,  and  still  later,  to 
distinguish  themselves  from  other  bodies  of  like  name, 
they  called  themselves  Original  Freewill  Baptists.    Their 
Confession  of  Faith  is  distinctly  Arminian,  not  merely  in 
asserting  that  Christ  tasted  death  for  every  man,  but  that 
all  men,  at  one  time  or  another,  are  found  in  such  ca- 
pacity as  that,  through  the  grace  of  God,  they  may  be 
eternally  saved.     They  also  hold  that  God  has  not  de- 
creed the  salvation  or  condemnation  of  any  "  out  of  re- 
spect or  mere  choice,"  but  has  appointed  the  godly  unto 
life  and  the  ungodly  who  die  in  sin  unto  death.     They 
practise  the  washing  of  the  saints'  feet  and  the  anoint- 
ing of  the  sick  with  oil,  as  perpetual  ordinances  of  the 
gospel.     A  plural  eldership  is  also  a  feature  of  their 
churches.     There  are  three   annual   conferences,   which 
have  more  power  than  the  regular  Association,  since  they 
can  try  and  ''silence"  preachers  and  settle  difficulties 
between  the  churches.     They  had  in   1890  in  the  two 
Carolinas    one   hundred   and   sixty-seven   churches    and 
eleven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-four  members. 
The  body  better  known  as  Freewill  Baptists  dates,  as 
a  separate  organization,  from  1780,  when  Benjamin  Ran- 
dall  organized  the  first  church  of  this  order  at   New 
Durham,  N.  H.    He  had  been  converted  under  the  preach- 
ing of  Whitefield,  and  was  at  first  a  Congregationalist, 
but  adopted  Baptist  views  and  joined  a  Regular  Baptist 
church.     Before  this  he  had  begun  to  preach  the  gospel 
with  much  acceptance  and  power.     In  his  preaching  he 
declared  that  God  was  not  willing  that  any  should  perish, 
that  a  full  atonement  had  been  made  for  the  sins  of  all, 
and  that  every  man  might,  if  he  would,  come  to  Christ— 
z 


386  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

such  doctrine  as  every  successful  evangelist  has  preached. 
But  the  Baptists  of  his  time  and  region  were  of  the 
straitest  sect  of  Calvinism  and  would  have  none  of  this 
theology.  In  a  brief  time  Mr.  Randall  found  himself 
practically  disfellowshiped,  though  he  was  never  formally 
excluded  by  his  church.  In  1780  he  was  ordained  by  two 
Baptist  ministers  who  shared  his  views,  and  the  new  de- 
nomination began.  It  rapidly  extended  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  in  1841  the  Free-communion  Baptists  of  New 
York  united  with  this  body.  Before  this,  in  1827,  a  Gen- 
eral Conference  had  been  organized,  which  formerly  met 
triennially,  but  of  late  years  holds  biennial  meetings. 
During  the  anti-slavery  agitation  the  Freewill  Baptists 
took  strong  ground  in  favor  of  abolition,  and  declined 
overtures  for  union  made  by  about  twelve  thousand  Bap- 
tists of  Kentucky,  because  the  latter  favored  slavery. 
The  Freewill  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  was  or- 
ganized in  1833,  and  has  a  vigorous  mission  in  India. 
A  Home  Mission  Society  was  formed  in  1834,  and  an 
Education  Society  in  1840.  The  denomination  sustains 
Hillsdale  College,  in  Michigan ;  Bates  College,  in  Maine ; 
besides  numerous  schools  of  academic  grade.  It  also  has 
a  publishing  house,  formerly  located  at  Dover,  N.  H., 
but  now  at  Boston,  Mass.  The  official  name  of  the  body 
was  changed  some  years  ago  to  Free  Baptists,  though 
they  are  still  usually  called  by  the  old  and  better-known 
name.  Their  numbers  are  now  under  ninety  thousand. 
The  old  asperities  of  theological  difference  have  been 
greatly  softened,  and  many  suggestions  have  been  made 
in  recent  years  for  the  union  of  the  Free  and  "  Regular  " 
Baptists.  Thus  far  possibly  the  chief  barrier  against 
such  union  has  been  the  teaching  of  the  Free  Baptists 
that  participation  in  the  Lord's  Supper  is  the  "  privilege 
and  duty  of  all  who  have  spiritual  union  with  Christ," 
and  "  no  man  has  a  right  to  forbid  these  tokens  to  the 


BAPTISTS   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES  387 

least  of  his  disciples."  No  other  Christian  body  has,  in 
its  official  confessions,  declared  that  the  unbaptized  have 
either  right  or  duty  to  participate  in  the  Lord's  Supper. 

The  rise  of  the  Separate  Baptists,  in  connection  with 
the  Whitefield  revivals,  has  already  been  told.  They 
were  also  known  as  Free-communion  Baptists.  In  the 
Northern  States  they  have  been  largely  absorbed  by  the 
Free  Baptists,  and  in  the  South  most  of  them  reunited 
after  a  time  with  the  Regular  Baptists.  Two  Associa- 
tions in  the  South,  which  still  retain  the  name  Separate, 
are  counted  with  the  Regular  Baptists,  but  a  single  As- 
sociation in  Indiana  still  refuses  any  fellowship  with  the 
Regular  Baptist  churches.  There  are  twenty-four 
churches  in  this  Association,  which  had  one  thousand 
five  hundred  and  ninety-nine  members  in  1890.  When 
the  "  Separates  "  and  "  Old  Lights  "  united  in  the  South 
they  assumed  the  name  of  United  Baptists  at  first.  For 
the  most  part  this  name  was  gradually  dropped,  and  the 
United  Baptists  became  simply  Baptists  and  are  reckoned 
with  the  "  Regulars."  But  in  a  number  of  States  (x\la- 
bama,  Arkansas,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  Tennessee)  there 
are  still  churches  and  Associations  that  retain  the  name 
United  and  hold  aloof  from  all  other  organizations.  In 
1890  there  were  two  hundred  and  four  churches  of  this 
order  and  thirteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  nine  mem- 
bers. The  terms  of  the  union  provided  that  the  teaching 
of  a  general  atonement  should  be  no  bar  to  communion, 
but  most  of  the  L^nited  Baptists  are  Calvinistic  in  the- 
ology. They  hold  that  feet-washing  should  be  practised 
by  all  believers. 

In  1824  an  Association  called  the  Liberty  was  organ- 
ized in  Kentucky,  composed  of  churches  holding  Ar- 
minian  views,  but  practising  strict  communion.  In  1830 
they  adopted  the  practice  of  open  communion,  and  in 
1845  so  revised  their  articles  of  faith  as  to  make  them 


388  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

more  unmistakably  Arminian.  Churches  of  this  order 
were  rapidly  organized  in  the  neighboring  States,  es- 
pecially Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Missouri,  and  everywhere 
bore  the  name  of  General  Baptists.  The  connection  of 
this  body  with  those  of  the  same  name  in  England  is 
shadowy,  if  not  impossible  to  trace.  In  1870  a  General 
Association  was  formed  that  represents  three  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  churches  in  seven  Western  and  Southern 
States,  with  a  membership  of  twenty-one  thousand  three 
hundred  and  sixty-two. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  Calvinistic  Baptist  bodies 
that  for  one  reason  or  another  decline  fellowship 
with  the  Regular  Baptists.  A  considerable  number 
of  Baptists  in  the  early  part  of  this  century  sep- 
arated from  the  other  churches  on  account  of  doctrinal 
and  practical  differences.  Holding  a  hyper-Calvinistic 
theology,  they  were  opposed  to  missions,  Sunday-schools, 
and  all  "  contrivances  which  seem  to  make  the  salvation 
of  men  depend  on  human  effort."  These  differences 
may  have  been  latent  from  an  earlier  time,  but  they  first 
began  to  manifest  themselves  actively  about  1830,  and 
from  1835  onward  they  produced  schisms  in  many 
churches  and  Associations.  They  call  themselves  Primi- 
tive Baptists,  and  have  been  called  by  others  "  Anti- 
mission,"  "  Old  School,"  and  "  Hard-shell "  Baptists. 
Their  Associations  decline  fellowship  with  any  church 
that  supports  any  "  missionary,  Bible,  tract,  or  Sunday- 
school  union  society  or  advocates  State  Conventions  or 
theological  schools."  Washing  of  the  saints'  feet  they 
hold  to  be  an  ordinance  of  the  gospel  to  be  continued 
until  Christ's  second  coming.  They  have  churches  in 
twenty-eight  States,  and  are  strong  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts of  Georgia.  Alabama,  North  Carolina,  Kentucky, 
and  Tennessee.  There  has  been  an  impression  until  late 
years  that  they  had  become  a  feeble  body,  rapidly  on  the 


BAPTISTS   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES  389 

way  to  extinction.  Such  is  undoubtedly  the  case  in  the 
North,  but  in  the  South  they  seem  to  be  not  merely 
holding  their  own,  but  increasing.  In  1890  they  had  three 
thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  churches  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty-one  thousand  three  hundred  and 
forty-seven  members. 

Even  more  fiercely  Calvinistic  are  the  Old  Two-seed- 
in-the-Spirit  Predestinarian  Baptists,  who  are  said  to  owe 
their  origin  to  the  curious  theology  of  Elder  Daniel 
Parker,  a  Baptist  minister  who  labored  in  the  States  of 
Tennessee  and  Illinois  from  1806  to  1836.  Parker  taught 
that  part  of  Eve's  offspring  were  the  seed  of  God  and 
elect  to  eternal  life;  part  were  the  seed  of  Satan  and  fore- 
ordained to  the  kingdom  of  eternal  darkness.  By  the 
divine  decree  all  events  whatever,  from  the  creation  to  the 
final  consummation,  were  foreordained,  so  that  nothing 
can  interfere  with  or  change  his  plans.  Many  of  these 
Baptists  object  to  a  paid  ministry,  and  they  agree  with  the 
Primitive  Baptists  in  reprobation  of  all  "  modern  insti- 
tutions," including  theological  schools.  They  practise 
feet- washing.  In  1890  they  had  four  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-three churches  and  twelve  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  fifty-one  members,  distributed  through  twenty-four 
States.  They  are  strongest  in  Kentucky,  Arkansas,  and 
Texas. 

The  Baptist  Church  of  Christ  seems  to  have  originated 
in  Tennessee,  where  the  oldest  organizations  were  formed 
in  1808,  and  where  more  than  half  the  membership  is 
still  found.  From  this  center  they  have  spread  to  six 
other  States,  and  in  1890  had  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
churches  and  eight  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
four  members.  They  are  mildly  Calvinistic  and  practise 
feet-washing. 

The  Seventh-day  Baptists  had  their  origin  in  Rhode 
Island,  a  church  being  founded  at  Newport  in  1671  by 


390  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Stephen  Mumford,  who  had  been  a  Sabbatarian  Baptist 
in  England.  A  General  Conference  was  organized  early 
in  the  present  century,  which  has  met  triennially  since 
1846.  They  formed  a  foreign  missionary  society  in  1842, 
and  support  a  tract  and  publishing  house.  Their  head- 
quarters are  at  Alfred  Center,  N.  Y.  Here  they  maintain 
a  college,  while  another  is  located  at  Milton,  Wis.  They 
have  one  hundred  and  twelve  churches,  and  over  nine 
thousand  members.  German  immigrants,  settling  at  what 
is  now  Germantown,  Pa.,  in  1723,  formed  the  first  Ger- 
man Seventh-day  Baptist  church.  According  to  the 
census  of  1890,  there  were  then  one  hundred  and  six 
churches  of  this  order  in  twenty-four  States,  and  nine 
thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-three  members.  The 
Seventh-day  Baptists  are  strongest  in  New  York,  one- 
fourth  of  the  churches  and  one-third  of  the  members 
being  found  in  that  State. 

Thus  far  all  of  the  irregular  Baptist  bodies  that  we  have 
considered  embody  the  word  Baptist  in  their  official  titles. 
There  are  a  number  of  other  bodies,  called  by  various 
names,  that  accept  the  fundamental  principle  of  believers' 
baptism.  The  most  important  of  these  is  a  body  that 
calls  itself  simply  "  The  Brethren,"  but  is  usually  called 
Dunkards,  sometimes  Tunkers,  and  occasionally  "  Ger- 
man Baptists  " ;  but  they  are  not  to  be  confounded  with 
the  regular  German  Baptists.  The  Dunkards  originated 
in  Schwartzenau,  Germany,  about  1708.  To  escape  per- 
secution they  emigrated  to  Pennsylvania,  where  they  set- 
tled in  considerable  numbers  from  17 19  to  1730,  and 
have  prospered  greatly  in  numbers  and  wealth.  They 
hold  in  the  main  the  same  doctrines  as  the  "  Regular  " 
Baptists,  but  add  some  peculiarities  of  practice,  chief 
among  which  is  trine  immersion.  The  candidate  kneels 
in  the  water,  and  is  immersed  forwards  at  the  naming  of 
each   person   of  the   Trinity   in   the   baptismal    formula. 


BAPTISTS   IN    THE   UNITED   STATES  39I 

They  have  an  ordained  ministry,  but  pay  ministers  no 
salary,  regarding  even  the  receiving  of  fees  with  great 
disfavor.  They  oppose  Sunday-schools  and  secret  so- 
cieties ;  practise  feet-washing  as  a  rehgious  ordinance ; 
interpreting  hterally  the  words  of  the  apostle  in  i  Cor. 
16  :  20,  they  "  greet  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss."  They 
bore  consistent  testimony  against  slavery,  and  are  now 
active  advocates  of  total  abstinence.  They  were  for  a 
time  inclined  to  regard  higher  education  as  conforming 
to  the  world,  but  they  have  now  several  colleges  and  high 
schools  in  which  co-education  is  practised.  They  still 
oppose  the  establishment  of  theological  schools  and  sem- 
inaries, but  some  of  their  ministers  are  educated  in  other 
institutions.  Owing  to  differences  of  various  kinds, 
chiefly  about  matters  of  discipline,  they  have  become 
broken  into  four  separate  bodies,  one  of  which  observes 
the  seventh  day.  In  1890  there  were  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-nine  churches. 

The  Winebrennerians,  or  "  Church  of  God,"  owe  their 
origin  to  the  labors  of  Rev.  John  Winebrenner,  who  in 
the  year  1820  was  settled  as  pastor  of  the  German  Re- 
formed Church  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.  A  great  revival  of 
religion  began  among  his  people,  and  the  work  aroused 
much  opposition  in  the  church,  which  looked  unfavorably 
upon  such  manifestations  of  abnormal  excitement  (as 
they  viewed  revivals).  After  five  years  of  conflict,  Mr. 
Winebrenner  and  his  people  separated  from  the  German 
Reformed  Church  and  formed  an  independent  congrega- 
tion. About  this  time  similar  revivals  occurred  in  the 
surrounding  towns,  and  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
new  churches.  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Winebrenner  had 
been  studying  the  Scriptures,  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  neither  in  doctrine  nor  in  discipline  did  the  German 
Reformed  Church  correspond  to  the  apostolic  model, 
which  he  now  conceived  to  be   independent  churches, 


392  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

composed  only  of  believers,  and  without  any  human 
creed  or  laws,  the  Scriptures  alone  being  accepted  as  the 
rule  of  faith  and  practice.  In  October,  1830,  a  meeting 
was  held  at  Harrisburg,  at  which  a  regular  system  of 
co-operation  was  adopted  by  the  churches  sympathizing 
with  these  views,  and  Mr.  Winebrenner  was  elected 
speaker  of  the  Conference.  This  body  now  meets  annu- 
ally, and  fourteen  other  Conferences  or  annual  elderships 
have  since  been  organized,  besides  a  general  eldership  that 
meets  triennially.  The  Church  of  God  has  an  itinerant 
ministry,  the  appointments  being  made  by  the  respective 
elderships ;  they  practise  feet-washing  as  a  religious  ordi- 
nance, recognize  only  immersion  of  believers  as  baptism, 
and  hold  that  the  Lord's  Supper  should  be  administered 
to  Christians  only,  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  always  in  the 
evening.  The  church  has  a  publishing  house  at  Harris- 
burg, an  academy  at  Bosheyville,  Pa.,  and  a  college  at 
Findlay,  Ohio.  In  1890  they  had  four  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  churches  and  twenty-two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  eleven  members,  and  were  represented  in  fifteen 
States. 

The  River  Brethren,  probably  of  Mennonite  origin, 
settled  in  eastern  Pennsylvania,  near  the  Susquehanna 
River,  about  1750;  from  their  baptizing  in  that  river  they 
gained  their  name.  They  practise  trine  immersion  and 
feet-washing;  and  in  the  doctrines  of  non-resistance  and 
non-conformity  to  the  world  they  resemble  the  Friends 
as  well  as  the  Mennonites.  There  are  now  three  divisions 
of  the  River  Brethren.  In  1890  there  were  one  hundred 
and  eleven  churches  and  three  thousand  four  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  members,  and  they  have  spread  from 
Pennsylvania  into  eight  other  States. 

Several  other  bodies  practise  adult  immersion,  though 
they  are  not  in  all  cases  scrupulous  about  requiring  evi- 
dence of  regeneration.     The  Adventists  arose  from  the 


BAPTISTS   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES  393 

teachings  of  William  Miller,  before  described,  and  are  al- 
ready broken  into  six  sects  or  groups,  with  a  total 
strength  of  over  sixty  thousand.  The  Christadelphians 
have  some  affinity  with  Adventists,  but  reject  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  though  believing  Christ  to  be  the  Son  of 
God.  They  are  a  small  body  of  about  twelve  hundred 
members.  The  Christians  or  Christian  Connection  orig- 
inated about  1806,  in  several  independent  movements,  and 
are  very  like  the  Disciples  of  Christ  in  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice. They  have  no  formal  creeds,  but  practise  immersion 
of  believers  only ;  and  while  no  one  type  of  theology  pre- 
vails among  them,  their  teachers  nearly  all  oppose  Cal- 
vinism. Their  polity  is  mainly  congregational,  though 
they  have  annual  Conferences,  composed  of  ministers 
and  lay  delegates,  which  receive  and  ordain  their  preach- 
ers. A  General  Convention,  meeting  every  four  years, 
has  charge  of  their  missionary  and  educational  work. 
In  1890  there  were  seventy-five  conferences,  one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  eighty-one  churches,  and  ninety  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  eighteen  members.  The  Social 
Brethren  is  a  body  that  originated  in  Arkansas  and 
Illinois  about  1867,  from  Baptist  and  Methodist  churches, 
and  partakes  of  the  peculiarities  of  both  denominations. 
These  Brethren  reject  infant  baptism,  but  agree  with  the 
Methodists  in  permitting  a  candidate  to  choose  between 
immersion,  pouring,  and  sprinkling.  It  is  said  that  im- 
mersion is  chosen  in  the  majority  of  cases.  In  1890  they 
had  twenty  churches  and  nine  hundred  and  thirteen  mem- 
bers. These  last-named  bodies  are  mentioned,  less  be- 
cause they  have  genuine  affinity  with  Baptists  than  to 
answer  questions  continually  coming  to  the  author  from 
readers  of  this  history,  about  the  doctrines  and  practices 
of  these  denominations. 


I 


v*' 


CHAPTER  XXV 

BAPTISTS   IN   OTHER  COUNTRIES 

MEN  Still  living  can  remember  the  beginning  of  a 
new  Baptist  history  in  Europe.  In  1832  the  Tri- 
lenniai  Convention  established  a  mission  in  France,  under 
/the  direction  of  Prof.  Irah  Chase,  of  the  Newton  Theo- 
/  logical  Institution.  A  Baptist  chapel  was  opened  in  Paris 
by  Rev.  J.  C.  Rostan,  a  Frenchman  who  had  for  some 
years  been  a  resident  of  the  United  States.  He  died  of 
cholera  the  following  year,  and  Rev.  Isaac  Willmarth, 
a  recent  graduate  of  Newton  Theological  Institution,  was 
sent  out  to  take  charge  of  the  work.  Before  the  coming 
of  these  men,  there  were  a  few  earnest  persons  who  had 
learned  the  truth  from  the  New  Testament  and  sought  to 
follow  its  teachings,  ignorant  that  any  people  in  the 
world  held  similar  views.  A  church  was  organized  in 
1835,  of  six  members,  and  the  following  year  the  first 
native  pastor,  Rev.  Joseph  Thiefifry,  was  ordained.  He 
labored  in  the  north  of  France  until  his  death,  at  an 
advanced  age,  choosing  that  field  of  labor  because  there 
were  in  existence  there  churches  holding  substantially  the 
principles  of  Baptists,  though  often  defective  in  organiza- 
tion, and  holding  various  errors  of  doctrine.  By  1838 
there  were  seven  churches  and  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
members  connected  with  the  mission. 

When  the  mission  was  begun,  the  opportunity  was 
thought  to  be  especially  favorable.  The  revolution  that 
had  placed  Louis  Philippe  on  the  throne  had  done  much 
to  lessen  the  hold  of  the  Church  of  Rome  on  the  French 
people,  it  was  believed.  But  it  soon  turned  out  that 
394 


BAPTISTS    IN    OTHER    COUNTRIES  395 

the  "  citizen  king  "  was  as  thoroughly  priestridden  as  any 
Bourbon,  and  the  Baptists  met  with  continued  and  bitter 
persecution.  At  GenHs,  where  a  member  had  built  a 
church  on  his  own  estate,  the  magistrate  would  not  per- 
mit it  to  be  opened  for  eleven  years.  Every  preacher  or 
colporter  was  liable  to  arrest,  and  punishment  by  fine  or 
imprisonment;  and  against  many  of  them  the  law  was 
rigorously  enforced.  The  legislative  chambers  made  it  a 
penal  offense  for  any  association  of  more  than  twenty 
persons  to  meet  for  religious  worship  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  government,  and  punished  any  one  who  per- 
mitted his  house  to  be  used  for  such  an  assemblage,  by 
a  fine  of  sixteen  to  two  hundred  francs.  Wealthy  friends 
in  New  York  paid  these  fines,  and  for  several  years  it 
was  found  expedient  "to  print  reports  from  the  mission 
with  blank  spaces  for  names  and  places,  to  spare  these 
brethren  persecution.  The  revolution  of  1848  drove 
Louis  Philippe  from  the  throne  and  established  a  re- 
public. The  new  constitution  declared  religious  liberty, 
though  this  principle  was  qualified  by  the  proviso  that 
such  liberty  could  be  allowed  only  to  organizations  rec- 
ognized by  law.  Toleration,  however,  speedily  became 
an  accomplished  fact,  and  serious  persecution  has  never 
since  been  known. 

The  church  first  formed  in  Paris  was  scattered  during 
these  times  of  civil  turmoil  and  religious  persecution.  It 
was  reorganized  by  Rev.  T.  T.  Devan  in  1850  with  four 
members,  and  in  spite  of  many  obstacles,  continued  to 
grow  until,  in  1863,  it  numbered  eighty-four  members. 
In  1872  the  church  built,  with  generous  assistance  from 
England  and  America,  a  neat  and  commodious  chapel. 
Mr.  Devan  also  organized  a  church  in  Lyons,  in  1852, 
and  other  churches  were  gradually  added.  The  estab- 
lishment of  the  McAll  mission  in  France  greatly  helped 
the  growth  of  the  Baptist  churches,  and  at  length  one  of 


396  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

the  best  workers  of  that  mission,  Rev.  Reuben  Saillens, 
withdrew  and  devoted  himself  to  the  Baptist  ministry. 
The  second  church  in  Paris  was  founded  by  him,  and  his 
evangeHstic  labors  in  many  parts  of  the  country  have 
been  and  still  are  very  fruitful. 

The  only  American  workers  since  1856  have  been  those 
connected  with  the  establishment  of  the  theological 
school  in  Paris,  which  was  begun  in  1879  by  Rev.  Edward 
C.  Mitchell,  and  continued  after  1883  by  Rev.  Henri  An- 
dru.  Quite  a  number  of  the  younger  French  Baptist  min- 
isters are  graduates  of  this  school,  and  their  labors  should 
be  of  the  greatest  aid  in  the  future  growth  of  the  Bap- 
tists of  France.  In  the  last. report  available  there  are 
said  to  be  forty-five  churches,  with  thirty-five  ordained 
ministers,  and  two  thousand  and  forty-eight  members ; 
and  two  hundred  and  eighty  were  baptized  during  the 
year. 

The  name  Baptist  has  been  an  epithet  of  scorn  and 
contempt  in  Germany  for  centuries.  The  German  people 
have  never  been  able  or  willing  to  forget  the  disorders 
at  Miilhausen  and  Miinster  during  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  blame  for  which  was  unjustly  laid  upon  the  Anabap- 
tists of  that  period.  For  a  man  to  profess  himself  a 
Baptist  in  that  country  is,  therefore,  to  suggest  that  he 
is  likely  to  believe  in  propagating  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
by  the  sword,  in  communism,  polygamy,  and  various 
other  horrifying  things.  In  spite  of  this  deep-seated 
prejudice,  Germany  is  precisely  the  country  of  Europe 
where  Baptists  have  during  the  past  century  made 
their  most  rapid,  most  healthful,  and  most  permanent 
advances.  This  is  because  the  movement  originated  on 
German  soil  and  with  German  people — not  by  the  agency 
of  a  foreign  missionary. 

The  leader  in  this  work  was  Johann  Gerhardt 
Oncken,  who  was  born  at  Varel,  in  Oldenburg,  in  1800, 


BAPTISTS   IN   OTHER   COUNTRIES  397 

In  his  fourteenth  year  a  Scottish  merchant  took  him  to 
Great  Britain,  and  there  he  was  converted,  after  which' 
he  joined  a  Congregational  church.  The  Continental 
Society  was  founded  in  London  in  1819,  for  the  propa-j 
gation  of  evangelical  religion  in  Europe.  Mr.  Oncken" 
had  a  great  desire  to  preach  the  gospel  among  his  own 
people,  and  in  1823  he  was  sent  to  Germany  as  a  mis- 
sionary of  this  Society.  He  began  to  preach  the  gospel 
in  Hamburg  and  Bremen  with  great  success.  Many  were 
converted,  but  the  bitter  hostility  of  the  State  Church 
was  aroused  against  him  and  his  work. 

After  some  years  of  this  work,  Mr.  Oncken,  by  a  faith- 
ful study  of  the  Scriptures,  became  convinced  that  the 
baptism  of  believers  only  is  taught  in  the  New  Testament 
or  was  practised  in  apostolic  times,  and  that  the  only 
baptism  known  to  the  Scriptures  is  immersion.  Con- 
cerning this  experience  he  has  himself  said  the  following : 

It  was  about  this  time  [1828]  that  I  became  fully  convinced 
from  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  (for  I  was  entirely  unac- 
quainted with  the  sentiments  of  the  Baptists)  of  the  truth  of 
believers'  baptism  and  the  nature  of  a  Christian  church.  I  and  a 
few  of  the  converts  who  had  also  seen  the  same  truth  now  only 
waited  for  some  one  who,  having  himself  followed  the  Lord  in 
his  ordinance,  should  be  qualified  to  baptize  us  and  form  us  into 
a  church.  But  for  this  we  had  to  wait  five  long  years,  though 
we  applied  to  both  England  and  Scotland.  .  .  In  1834  [April 
22]  a  little  company  of  seven  believers  were  rowed  across  our 
beautiful  Elbe,  in  the  dead  hour  of  night,  to  a  little  island,  and 
there  descending  into  the  waters,  were  buried  with  Christ  in  bap- 
tism. .  .  The  next  day  we  were  formed  into  a  church,  of 
which  I  was  appointed  the  pastor.^ 

The  man  who  was  led  by  divine  providence  to  the  per- 
forming of  this  service  was  the  Rev.  Barnas  Sears,  then 
professor  in  the  Hamilton  Literary  Institution,  who  was 

^  From  "  Triumphs  of  the  Gospel,"  a  tract  by  Oncken,  published  at 
Hamburg  (no  date). 


39^  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

spending  some  time  in  Germany  in  study  and  had  become 
known  to  Mr.  Oncken  as  an  American  Baptist.  This 
was  the  first  Baptist  church  on  German  soil  in  modern 
times.  Two  helpers  were  soon  won  to  the  cause.  The 
first,  Julius  Kobner,  a  Danish  Jew,  formerly  an  engraver, 
became  the  poet  and  hymn-writer  of  the  German  Baptists, 
as  well  as  an  ardent  preacher.  Gottfried  Wilhelm  Leh- 
mann  was  the  second  co-worker;  he  and  five  others  were 
baptized  by  Oncken  at  Berlin,  May  13,  1837,  and  so  the 
second  church  was  constituted.  The  memory  of  this  trio 
of  preachers — they  have  all  now  gone  to  their  reward — 
will  always  be  precious  to  German  Baptists,  among  whom 
they  are  known  as  "  the  clover-leaf." 

In  the  following  September  the  Triennial  Convention 

(employed  Mr.  Oncken  as  a  missionary,  and  the  Baptist 
cause  began  to  make  steady,  and  at  times  rapid,  progress 
in  Germany.  He  also  became  agent  for  the  Edinburgh 
Bible  Society,  and  his  colporters  went  throughout  Ger- 
many selling  Bibles  and  preaching  the  truth.  By  1838 
the  Hamburg  church  had  grown  to  seventy-five  members, 
and  three  other  churches  had  been  established.  This 
success  aroused  the  ire  of  the  Lutheran  clergy,  and  they 
complained  to  the  Hamburg  Senate,  who  directed  the 
police  to  suppress  the  Baptist  meetings.  For  a  time  Ger- 
man Baptists  suffered  severe  persecution.  Mr.  Oncken 
was  several  times  imprisoned  and  fined.  In  May,  1840, 
he  was  imprisoned  four  weeks,  and  on  his  release  all  his 
household  goods  were  sold  to  pay  his  fine  and  costs.  He 
was  forbidden  to  hold  religious  services  at  which  any  ex- 
cept members  of  his  own  household  attended !  Members 
of  Baptist  churches  were  required  by  law  to  bring  their 
children  to  Lutheran  ministers  for  so-called  baptism,  on 
pain  of  imprisonment  or  fine.  Their  property  was  liable 
to  confiscation,  and  in  general  they  were  treated  as  men 
who  had  no  rights  that  others  were  bound  to  respect. 


BAPTISTS  IN  OTHER  COUNTRIES  399 

These  cruelties  provoked  many  indignant  remonstrances 
from  England  and  America,  and  such  expressions  of  en- 
lightened   Christian    sentiment    were    not    without    their 
effect  on  the  Hamburg  Senate.    A  great  fire  in  1844  de- 
stroyed a  great  part  of  the  city,  and  the  efforts  of  the 
Baptists  to  relieve  the  distress  of  the  suffering  caused  a 
great  change  in  public  opinion  and  official  action.     From 
this  time  Oncken  and  his  church  were  unmolested,  but 
in  other  parts  of  Germany  the  Baptists  were  less  fortu- 
nate.   The  revolution  of  1848  brought  about  changes  for 
the  better  in  most  of  the  German  States.    The  new  con-; 
stitution  adopted  in  Prussia  in  1850  provides,  in  article 
12 :  "  Freedom  of  religious  confession,  of  meeting  in  re- 
ligious societies,  and  of  the  common  exercise  of  religion 
in  private  and  public  is  guaranteed."     It  was  not  untiM 
1858,  however,  that  the  Hamburg  church  was  recognized  1 
by  the  State  as  a  religious  corporation.     Even  yet  the  ' 
Baptists   do   not   enjoy   complete   toleration   throughout 
Germany,  though  interference  with  them  becomes  more 
rare  with  each  successive  decade. 

In  spite  of  all  difficulties,  remarkable  progress  was 
made  from  the  first.  Baptist  churches  sprang  up  in  all 
the  principal  cities,  while  in  the  smaller  towns  they  spread 
even  more  rapidly.  They  organized  themselves  into  As- 
sociations, after  the  American  plan,  and  in  1849  the  five 
Associations  then  existing  formed  a  general  Triennial 
Conference,  which  since  1855  has  been  known  as  the 
German  Baptist  Union,  and  has  held  annual  meetings. 
Another  great  advance  was  taken  when  Dr.  Philip  Bickel, 
a  German  by  birth,  who  had  been  educateci  in  the  United 
States,  went  to  Hamburg  in  1878  to  take  charge  of  the 
publication  house,  begun  in  1838  by  Mr.  Oncken  as  a 
private  enterprise,  and  turned  over  to  the  German  Bap- 
tist Union.  This  has  since  been  removed  to  Cassel.  The 
jubilee   of   the   German   mission   and   the   death   of   its 


400  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

founder  both  fell  in  the  year  1884.  The  seven  members 
with  which  it  began  fifty  years  before  had  grown  into 
nearly  thirty-two  thousand,  and  have  since  increased  to 
about  fifty  thousand.  These  are  not  all  in  Germany 
proper;  the  German  Baptists  have  been  mindful  of 
the  Great  Commission,  and  have  sent  out  missionaries 
to  Denmark,  Finland,  Poland,  Holland,  Switzerland,  Rus- 
sia, Hungary,  Bulgaria,  and  Africa.  Some  twenty-three 
thousand  of  the  members  they  now  report  have  been 
gathered  as  the  result  of  these  missionary  operations. 
Their  most  important  enterprise  of  recent  years  has  been 
the  establishment,  in  1880,  of  a  theological  school  at  Ham- 
burg, in  part  by  the  aid  of  American  Baptists.  In  1888 
a  new  and  commodious  building  was  dedicated,  that  had 
been  erected  for  the  use  of  the  seminary  in  a  suburb  of 
Hamburg.  The  course  of  study  occupies  four  years,  and 
the  institution  is  doing  much  for  the  training  of  the 
German  Baptist  ministry. 

The  Baptists  of  Sweden,  in  a  sense,  owe  their  origin 
to  American  Baptists,  yet  no  American  Baptist  has  been 
directly  concerned  in  the  work.  A  Swedish  sailor,  Gustaf 
VV.  Schroeder,  who  had  been  converted  in  some  Metho- 
dist meetings  at  New  Orleans  in  April,  1844,  a  few  months 
later  found  his  way  into  the  Mariners'  Baptist  Church, 
New  York,  and  on  the  third  of  November  of  that  year 
was  baptized  in  the  East  River,  at  the  site  of  the  present 
Corlear's  Hook  Park.  The  following  year  he  met  Fred- 
erick O.  Nilsson,  also  a  Swedish  sailor,  who  had  been 
converted  in  New  York  in  1834,  and  then  was  a  col- 
porter.  Led  by  Captain  Schroeder  to  inquire  into  the 
subject  of  baptism,  Nilsson  was  brought  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth,  and  was  baptized  in  August,  1847,  ^Y 
Oncken  in  the  Elbe,  near  Hamburg.  In  September  of  the 
following  year  the  first  five  Swedes  who  were  baptized 
were,  with  Air.  Nilsson,  constituted  a  church  with  the 


BAPTISTS   IN   OTHER   COUNTRIES  4OI 

aid  of  Rev.  Mr.  Forster,  a  Danish  Baptist  minister,  and 
the  following  year  Nilsson  was  ordained  in  Hamburg, 
and  began  to  preach  in  Sweden.  His  success  was  marked, 
but  the  persecution  that  followed  was  bitter;  and  in  185 1 
he  was  banished  from  the  country.  After  a  short  stay  at 
Copenhagen,  he  headed  a  colony  of  emigrants  to  this 
country,  who  settled  in  the  State  of  Minnesota.  This 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  another  colony,  sent  to  this 
country  in  1870  by  Captain  Schroeder,  which  went  across 
the  State  of  Maine,  "  poled  in  canoes  "  up  the  upper  St. 
John,  and  planted  a  Baptist  church  at  a  place  which  they 
named  New  Sweden,  in  Aroostook  County. 

A  successor  to  Nilsson  was  found  in  Andreas  Wiberg, 
a  Lutheran  minister,  educated  at  the  University  of  Up- 
sala  who,  in  1849,  became  unable  to  remain  longer  with 
good  conscience  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  where  he  was 
obliged  to  administer  the  communion  to  converted  and 
unconverted  alike.  Meeting  Mr.  Oncken,  and  being  led 
to  the  study  of  the  New  Testament  anew,  he  embraced 
Baptist  views.  At  this  time  he  fell  dangerously  ill,  and 
partly  for  the  recovery  of  his  health,  partly  in  hope  of 
enlisting  the  aid  of  American  Baptists,  he  decided  to 
make  a  voyage  to  the  United  States.  The  vessel  was  de- 
tained for  two  days  at  Copenhagen,  and  Wiberg  sought 
out  Nilsson  and  was  baptized  in  the  Baltic  Sea,  July  23, 
1852.  His  visit  to  the  United  States  was  successful; 
much  interest  in  the  cause  in  Sweden  was  aroused,  and 
he  returned  to  his  native  land  as  a  colporter  of  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  in  1855.  From 
this  time  onward  the  work  progressed  rapidly.  The  press 
was  free  in  Sweden,  and  much  was  done  for  the  spread 
of  the  truth  by  the  circulation  of  books  and  tracts. 

In  1 86 1,  Captain  Schroeder  returned  to  Sweden  and 
soon  after  bought  a  lot  and  built  at  his  own  expense  a 
house  of  worship  for  the  Baptist  church  at  Gothenburg — 

2A 


402  SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

the  first  edifice  of  the  kind  in  the  country.  Baptists  had 
been  accused  of  doing  their  works  in  holes  and  corners,  so 
Captain  Schroeder  had  a  large  signboard  put  along  the 
front  of  the  house,  with  the  legend,  "  Baptist  Meeting 
Hall."  The  pastor  of  this  church  was  Rev.  F.  O.  Nilsson, 
who  by  royal  grace  had  been  permitted  to  return  from  his 
banishment.  Both  he  and  Captain  Schroeder  were  sum- 
moned, at  the  instigation  of  Bishop  Bjorck,  to  appear 
at  the  police  court,  after  the  first  public  service,  and  the 
Captain  was  fined  a  sum  that  with  costs  finally  amounted 
to  fifty  dollars.  The  shame  and  disgrace  of  the  trial, 
however,  so  reacted  on  the  prosecutors  that  the  church 
was  molested  no  further. 

In  other  places,  however,  the  Baptists  were  less  fortu- 
nate. Fines  and  imprisonments  and  distraint  of  prop- 
erty were  common.  Babes  were  forcibly  taken  from  their 
parents  and  baptized  in  Lutheran  churches.  One  of  their 
ministers  was  summoned  before  the  courts  sixteen  times, 
was  imprisoned  six  times,  and  once  was  shackled  for 
many  days  and  compelled  to  pay  a  large  fine.  These 
persecutions,  in  most  cases  instigated  by  the  State  clergy, 
and  in  all  cases  approved  by  them,  aroused  much  sym- 
pathy and  indignation  in  Sweden  itself,  and  also  in  other 
countries.  Strong  representations  were  made  by  the 
Evangelical  Alliance ;  petitions  for  liberty  of  worship 
poured  in  upon  the  government ;  remonstrances  were 
formally  made  by  representatives  of  England  and  the 
United  States,  and  gradually  these  severities  were  re- 
laxed. Such  persecutions  were  the  more  intolerable,  in 
that  they  were  wholly  illegal.  The  Constitution  of 
Sweden,  adopted  in  1809,  declares:  "The  king  shall  not 
coerce  anybody's  conscience  or  allow  it  to  be  coerced,  but 
protect  every  one  in  the  free  exercise  of  his  religion, 
provided  the  peace  of  the  community  is  not  disturbed  or 
general  scandal  caused  thereby."     In  the  midst  of  the 


BAPTISTS   IN   OTHER   COUNTRIES  40^ 

persecutions,  King  Oscar  I.  declared,  in  his  opening 
speech  to  the  Diet,  October  17,  1856:  "Toleration, 
founded  on  individual,  immovable  conviction,  and  respect 
for  the  religious  faith  of  others,  belongs  to  the  essence 
of  the  Protestant  Church,  and  ought  to  be  accepted 
among  a  people  whose  heroic  king,  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
by  brilliant  victories  and  the  sacrifice  of  his  life,  laid  the 
foundation  of  freedom  of  thought  in  Central  Europe. 
Those  laws,  therefore,  which  hinder  religious  liberty  and 
freedom  of  worship  ought  to  be  abolished,  and  the  gen- 
eral law  be  brought  into  agreement  with  the  sixteenth 
section  of  the  constitution"  [already  quoted  above]. 
These  were  brave  words,  yet  both  the  king  and  his  courts 
w^ent  on  in  the  work  of  persecution,  though  the  king  fre- 
quently used  his  royal  authority  to  soften  its  bitterness. 
Baptists  do  not  yet  enjoy  complete  toleration.  A  law 
was  made  in  behalf  of  Dissenters  in  i860  and  amended  in 
1873 ;  but  the  provisions  of  this  law  are  so  obnoxious  and 
offer  so  slight  advantages  that  few  Baptist  churches  have 
ever  availed  themselves  of  it.  For  the  most  part  they 
continue  to  be  nominally  members  of  the  State  Church. 
As  such  they  are  conceded  the  right  to  meet  together,  so 
long  as  they  do  not  teach  anything  that  may  be  considered 
as  leading  to  separation.  The  enforcement  of  this 
restriction  has  been  dropped  by  general  consent. 

For  ten  years  the  work  in  Sweden  went  on  under  the 
direction  of  the  Publication  Society,  and  then  it  was 
transferred  to  the  Missionary  Union.  From  nine  churches 
in  1855  they  grew  by  the  end  of  the  century  to  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four,  and  from  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  members  to  forty  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-  I 
nine — a  truly  wonderful  increase,  which  takes  no  account 
of  their  missionary  growth.  In  1867  they  began  to 
preach  the  truth  in  Norway,  where  a  church  was  or- 
ganized the  following  year.     Progress  has  been  slow  in 


404  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   THE   BAPTISTS 

comparison  with  the  work  in  Sweden,  but  the  century 
closed  with  thirty-two  Baptist  churches  and  two  thou- 


sand six  hundred  and  seventy  one  members  in  that 
jlcountry.  A  mission  in  Finland  was  begun  in  1868,  as 
a  result  of  which  thirty-one  churches  and  two  thousand 
and  thirty  members  greeted  the  twentieth  century. 

The  Conference  of  Swedish  churches  was  formed  in 
1857,  and  has  done  much  to  promote  Baptist  progress. 
It  has  greatly  stimulated  the  missionary  spirit.  Through- 
out their  history  the  Swedish  Baptists  have  been  in  the 
forefront  of  all  Christian  enterprise.  They  were  the  first 
to  establish  Sunday-schools  in  that  country,  not  one  being 
known  in  1855,  while  in  1857  ^^^-  Wiberg  reported  eight 
among  the  Baptists,  with  three  hundred  and  thirty-nine 
scholars.  The  first  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  Swe- 
den was  organized  in  the  Baptist  church  at  Orebo,  and 
in  work  for  the  young  people  Baptists  are  in  advance  of 
all  other  Christians. 

In  October,  1866,  the  Bethel  Theological  Seminary  was 
established  in  Stockholm,  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Knut 
O.  Broady,  d.  d.,  and  has  since  been  doing  a  work  of 
great  importance  in  the  education  of  the  Swedish  min- 
istry. In  1883  it  entered  a  commodious  building  erected 
for  its  use  in  Stockholm,  and  has  been  more  prosperous 
and  useful  since  that  date  than  before.  Baptists  have 
done  much  to  sustain  this,  as  well  as  the  German  mission, 
in  the  way  of  contributions  of  money  from  time  to  time ; 
but  they  have  received  their  reward  already.  It  is  said, 
and  doubtless  with  truth,  that  ten  per  cent,  of  the  con- 
verts made  by  Baptists  in  Sweden  go  to  swell  the  mem- 
bership of  Baptist  churches  in  this  country,  and  that  an 
equal  proportion  of  the  graduates  of  their  seminary 
become  pastors  of  Swedish  churches  in  America. 

The  Baptist  cause  in  Denmark,  as  has  already  been 
said,  is  the  result,   not  of  anything  done  by  American 


BAPTISTS   IN   OTHER   COUNTRIES  405 

Baptists,  but  of  the  missionary  enthusiasm  of  our  German 
brethren.  A  Baptist  church  was  organized  in  Copen- 
hagen near  the  close  of  the  year  1839,  eleven  being  then 
baptized  by  Mr.  Oncken,  and  ten  in  July  of  the  following 
year,  when  P.  C.  IMoenster  was  ordained  as  pastor  of 
the  church.  Another  church  of  eight  members  was 
formed  by  Mr.  Oncken  in  September,  1840,  at  Lange- 
land;  and  in  the  following  October  a  third  church  of 
ten  members  was  formed  at  Aalberg  by  ]\Ioenster.  Rig- 
orous persecutions  were  almost  immediately  begun  by 
the  government,  then  an  absolute  monarchy.  King  Chris- 
tian V.  promulgated  the  following  law :  "  That  religion 
alone  shall  be  allowed  in  the  king's  lands  and  realms 
which  agrees  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  Apostolic  and 
Nicene  creeds,  the  Athanasian  creed,  and  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  and  with  Luther's  ]\Iinor  Catechism."  Pastor 
Moenster  was  imprisoned  from  about  the  first  of  De- 
cember, 1840,  until  November  of  the  following  year. 
His  brother,  Adolph,  who  took  his  place,  shared  his  fate 
in  May,  1841.  In  1842  Moenster  was  imprisoned  a  sec- 
ond time,  from  January  to  July.  Drs.  Horatio  B. 
Hackett  and  Thomas  J.  Conant,  acting  in  behalf  of 
American  Baptists,  visited  the  Denmark  brethren  in  1843, 
and  attempted  to  alleviate  their  condition.  High  Danish 
officials,  both  in  Church  and  in  State,  bore  witness  to  the 
blameless  character  of  these  persecuted  Baptists,  and 
gradually  the  severities  practised  against  them  were 
relaxed. 

It  was,  however,  not  before  1850  that  they  began  to 
enjoy  much  toleration;  and  added  to  this  difficulty  they 
lost  many  of  their  members  by  emigration  to  a  land  of 
greater  liberty.  They  began  to  form  Associations  of 
their  churches  in  1849,  ^"d  in  1887  withdrew  from  the 
German  Baptist  Union  and  formed  a  union  of  their  own. 
They  had  not  been  unmindful  of  missionary  obligations, 


406  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

and  have  missionaries  on  the  Congo  field.     The  Danish 
Baptists  now  number  over  four  thousand. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  German  Baptist 
missions  is  that  in  Russia.  There  were  already  Menno- 
nites  in  the  southern  region  who  were  virtually  Baptists, 
while  the  Stundists  and  other  native  sects  have  close 
affiliation  with  Baptist  beliefs  and  practices.  But  the 
planting  of  Baptist  churches  has  gone  on  steadily  for 
quite  a  generation.  The  work  began  among  the  numer- 
ous German  colonies,  but  has  extended  among  the  Rus- 
sians themselves.  There  are  now  some  twenty-five  thou- 
sand members  of  Baptist  churches  in  Russia  proper,  and 
the  number  would  have  been  greatly  increased  but  for 
the  severe  persecutions  they  have  experienced,  in  common 
with  all  dissenters  from  the  State  church.  Russia  pro- 
fesses to  grant  complete  religious  liberty,  the  imperial 
decree  reading  as  follows:  "  All  the  subjects  of  the  Rus- 
sian empire  not  belonging  to  the  Established  Church, 
both  native  Russians  and  those  from  abroad  who  are  in 
the  service  of  the  State,  are  permitted  at  all  times  openly 
to  confess  their  faith  and  practise  their  services  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rite.  This  freedom  of  faith  is  assured 
not  only  to  Christians  of  foreign  confessions,  but  also  to 
the  Jews,  Mohammedans,  and  heathen,  so  that  all  the 
peoples  in  Russia  may  worship  God,  the  Almighty,  with 
different  tongues,  according  to  the  laws  and  confessions 
of  their  fathers  so  that  they  may  bless  the  government  of 
the  Russian  tsar,  and  pray  for  his  welfare  to  the  Cre- 
ator of  the  world."  This  seems  like  a  very  liberal  pro- 
vision for  freedom  of  conscience,  but  most  of  the  con- 
cession is  interpreted  away  by  other  acts.  Liberty  of 
worship  is  secured  to  men  in  the  faith  of  their  fathers, 
but  they  have  no  liberty  to  change  their  religion  except  by 
adopting  that  established  by  law.  Nobody  must  persuade 
an    orthodox    Russian    to    join    another    church.      He 


BAPTISTS   IN   OTHER   COUNTRIES  407 

who  does  so  is  guilty  of  a  high  crime  and  misdemeanor, 
forfeits  all  his  legal  and  civil  rights,  and  is  punishable 
by  banishment  to  Siberia.  Thousands  of  our  Baptist 
brethren  are  said  to  have  suffered  this  penalty — in  some 
cases  whole  churches  and  their  pastors  having  been  de- 
ported. Any  Russian  who  leaves  the  orthodox  com- 
munion to  become  a  Baptist  may  be  put  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  ecclesiastical  courts.  This  means  that 
guardians  will  be  appointed  for  his  children,  and  an 
administrator  for  his  estates,  until  his  return  to  the 
orthodox  faith ;  his  obstinate  refusal  to  return  makes 
these  penalties  permanent.  In  spite  of  such  laws  and  their 
rigid  enforcement,  the  Baptist  cause  has  continued  to 
prosper  in  Russia. 

A  mission  to  Greece  was  begun  in  1836  by  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Missionary  Union,  but  very  small  results  fol- 
lowed many  years  of  hard  labor.  The  chief  convert  of  the 
mission  became  its  leading  minister,  Rev.  Demetrius 
Z.  Sakellarios.  The  mission  was  suspended  in  1856,  but 
was  resumed  in  1871,  and  finally  discontinued  in 
1886.  A  recent  historian  of  our  missions  sums  up  the 
history  of  the  mission  thus :  "  While  the  Greeks  are  of 
high  intelligence  and  have  great  interest  in  religious  sub- 
jects, they  are  not  open  to  that  influence  of  religious 
truth  which  will  enable  them  to  endure  separation  from 
their  own  people  and  church  for  the  sake  of  a  purer 
gospel  and  a  more  living  faith."  ^ 

A  Baptist  mission  founded  in  Spain  by  Rev.  W.  I. 
Knapp,  has  had  a  history  but  little  more  encouraging,  j 
At  one  time  it  was  nearly  extinct,  but  it  was  revived  by  I 
the  sending  of  a  missionary  from  this  country.  There 
are  now  several  vigorous  Baptist  churches  and  active 
pastors,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  Baptist  cause  in  Spain 
has  a  future  more  encouraging  than  its  past. 

1  Merriam,  "  History  of  American  Baptist  Missions,"  p.  201. 


408  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

The  Southern  Baptist  Convention  has  maintained  a 
mission  in  Italy,  with  varying  success,  since  the  year 
1870.  An  independent  mission  was  also  for  a  time  main- 
tained in  Rome  by  Rev.  W.  C.  Van  Meter,  with  the  help 
of  Baptists  and  others,  but  the  Missionary  Union  has 
never  established  an  Italian  mission.  Rev.  George  B. 
Taylor,  d.  d.,  was  the  efficient  superintendent  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  missionary  operations  for  many  years. 
Thirty  years  of  labor  have  established  sixty-four  Baptist 
churches  in  the  kingdom,  from  the  Alps  to  the  island  of 
Sicily,  with  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty  mem- 
bers. There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  sentimentalism 
connected  with  this  mission ;  the  idea  of  having  a  Bap- 
tist church  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  Vatican  has 
been  most  captivating  to  many  minds.  As  was  said  at 
Balaklava,  "  It  is  magnificent,  but  it  is  not  war."  That 
sort  of  thing  may  gratify  the  remnant  of  the  old  Adam 
in  us,  but  it  is  not  evangelizing  the  world. 

The  only  cases  in  which  our  European  work  has  proved 
prosperous,  or  even  had  the  capacity  of  permanent  life, 
are  those  in  which  there  has  been  a  self-originating  body 
of  Baptists,  whom  their  American  brethren  have  simply 
aided  by  counsel  and  money.  Where  we  have  sent  out 
missionaries  from  this  country,  or  where  the  work  has 
not  been  from  the  first  carried  on  mainly  by  native  Bap- 
tists, there  has  been  a  succession  of  mortifying  failures. 
Nor  is  it  difficult  to  see  why  this  should  be  the  case. 
Europe  is  not  a  pagan  country.  Its  people  already  have 
the  religion  of  Christ — in  a  perverted  form,  it  is  true ; 
yet  not  so  perverted  but  that  multitudes  find  in  it  the 
way  of  salvation.  It  is  inevitable  that  such  people  should 
look  with  coldness  upon  foreigners  who  come  to  teach 
them,  not  a  different  religion,  but  what  they  have  been 
bred  to  consider  a  heretical  form  of  their  own. 

The  belief  has  therefore  become  of  late  years  very 


BAPTISTS   IN   OTHER   COUNTRIES  409 

general  that  it  is  unadvisable  for  American  Baptists  to 
(maintain  missions  in  European  countries  by  direct  sup- 
port of  missionaries  or  pastors.  So  soon  as  churches 
are  formed  it  is  believed  to  be  best  that  they  support  their 
own  pastors.  Help  may  well  be  given  from  this  country 
for  the  education  of  a  native  ministry,  and  occasionally 
for  other  exceptional  forms  of  work.  Whatever  is  done 
beyond  that,  experience  seems  to  show,  does  not  tend  to 
the  ultimate  stability  of  the  churches  or  the  permanent 
growth  of  the  cause.  Churches,  like  men,  are  the  better 
for  being  self-reliant,  and  early  learning  to  stand  alone. 
It  is  an  open  question  whether  aiding  churches  in  our  own 
country  has  not  too  frequently  resulted,  like  indiscrim- 
inate giving  to  beggars,  in  pauperizing  a  large  number  of 
bodies  that  if  properly  stimulated  to  self-help  might  long 
since  have  become  robust.  But  this  is  to  leave  the  domain 
of  the  historian  and  enter  that  of  the  social  philosopher. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

PROGRESS  OF  BAPTIST  PRINCIPLES 

AS  we  have  seen,  the  number  of  Baptists  at  the  end 
of  the  nineteenth  century  had  come  to  be  more  than 
five  milh'ons.  But  a  denomination  that  has  nothing  better 
upon  which  to  congratulate  itself  than  mere  numbers 
is  to  be  pitied.  Numbers  alone  are  not  strength.  Be- 
fore our  worth  to  the  world  can  be  duly  estimated,  it 
becomes  necessary  to  ask  and  answer  the  question,  What 
have  Baptists  contributed  to  the  religious  thought  and  life 
of  the  world,  and  what  is  the  value  of  that  contribution? 

It  may  be  sufficient  to  reply  to  this  question  that  the 
value  of  Baptist  contribution  to  Christian  life  and  thought 
is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  prin- 
ciples for  which  Baptists  have  contended  are  now  the 
common  property  of  Christendom.  This  may  seem  a 
sweeping  if  not  a  rash  statement.  Let  us  proceed  to 
justify  it  in  detail. 

The  chief  of  these  distinctive  principles  of  Baptists,  as 
has  been  set  forth  in  a  previous  chapter,  relates  to  the 
nature  of  the  church.  Baptists  have  always  contended 
that  the  church  is  not  a  worldly,  but  a  spiritual  body — 
spiritual,  not  in  the  sense  of  lacking  a  local  organization 
or  visible  identity,  but  because  organized  on  the  basis  of 
spiritual  life.  In  other  words,  the  church  should  consist 
of  the  regenerate  only — that  is,  of  persons  who  have 
given  credible  evidence  to  the  world  that  they  have  been 
born  again  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  This  principle  of  Bap- 
tists, which  was  scouted  at  first  and  for  centuries,  has 
now  won  its  way  to  general  acceptance  among  nearly  all 
410 


PROGRESS    OF    BAPTIST    PRINCIPLES  4II 

Protestant  (lenominations,  such  bodies  as  call  themselves 
evangelical.  In  Europe,  where  State  churches  still  exist, 
the  principle  has,  it  is  true,  made  comparatively  little 
progress.  Where  citizenship  and  church-membership  are 
practically  identical  terms,  it  is  evident  that  the  church 
cannot  insist  upon  regeneration  as  a  condition  of  mem- 
bership. Every  one  who  is  born  into  the  State  and  upon 
whom  some  form  of  so-called  baptism  has  been  practised, 
must  be  presumed  to  be  regenerate,  and  therefore  to  be 
a  fitting  person  for  all  the  privileges  of  church-fellowship, 
unless  by  a  notoriously  immoral  and  profligate  life  he 
negatives  the  assumption  and  warrants  the  State-sup- 
ported minister  or  priest  in  refusing  him  communion. 
In  many  of  the  New  England  towns  during  the  early 
period,  church-membership  was  essential  to  the  full  en- 
joyment of  the  rights  of  citizenship,  the  State  being  in 
fact  and  almost  in  form  a  theocracy.  It  was  natural, 
therefore,  that  persons  who  lacked  spiritual  qualifications 
for  church-membership  should  yet  desire  a  formal  mem- 
bership, in  order  to  avail  themselves  of  the  accompanying 
civil  privilege.  How  this  pressure  brought  about  the 
"  Half-way  Covenant,"  with  its  disastrous  effects  on  the 
churche?^  has  already  been  told.  It  was  for  vehemently 
protesting  against  these  evils  that  Jonathan  Edwards  was 
driven  from  his  pastorate  at  Northampton,  and  sent  forth 
like  Abraham,  "  not  knowing  whither  the  Lord  should 
lead  him." 

The  Baptist  churches,  as  we  have  seen,  through  insist- 
ence upon  a  regenerate  membership,  were  a  bulwark 
against  the  rising  tide  of  anti-scriptural  doctrine  that 
for  a  time  threatened  to  overwhelm  evangelical  religion 
in  New  England.  The  influence  of  these  facts  was  potent, 
not  only  among  the  Congregationalists,  but  among  Pres- 
byterians and  other  Protestant  bodies.  The  necessity  was 
clearly  seen  of  a  reform  that  should  separate  the  worldly 


412  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

from  the  spiritual  elements  in  the  church.  Gradually  but 
surely,  without  outward  change  in  their  formularies  or 
an  avowed  alteration  of  practice,  these  bodies  came  virtu- 
ally to  adopt  the  Baptist  principle  of  a  regenerate  mem- 
bership. They  still  to  a  certain  extent  vitiate  the  principle 
by  maintaining  the  unscriptural  practice  of  infant  baptism, 
but  they  are  quite  rigid  in  the  requirement  that  those 
thus  baptized  in  unconscious  infancy  shall,  on  reaching 
years  of  maturity,  make  a  public  and  personal  profession 
of  religion  before  they  are  received  into  full  member- 
ship. And  in  many  churches,  Congregational,  Presby- 
terian, Methodist,  if  not  in  all,  this  profession  is  not  a  mere 
form  of  words,  but  care  is  taken  by  the  officers  of  the 
church  to  secure  credible  evidence  of  regeneration  before 
the  candidate  is  received.  In  many  cases  the  examination  is 
quite  as  careful  and  searching  as  that  to  which  candidates 
for  baptism  are  subjected  in  Baptist  churches.  While, 
therefore,  we  regret  that  our  evangelical  brethren  of  other 
faiths  do  not  see  the  truth  as  we  see  it  and  that  they 
are  yet,  as  we  believe,  rendering  an  imperfect  obedience 
to  the  commands  of  Christ,  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  that 
Baptist  example  has  so  far  borne  fruit  that  these  brethren 
have  in  so  large  measure  adopted,  as  their  rule  of  church 
order,  the  cardinal  distinctive  principle  of  Baptists. 

We  may  note  as  a  second  contribution  of  Baptists  to 
Christian  thought  the  fact  that  what  is  known  as  the  bap- 
tismal controversy  is  now  practically  at  an  end.  The  issue 
has  been  decided  and  the  verdict  of  scholarship  is  ren- 
dered. It  is  true  that  there  are  some  Pedobaptists  who 
imagine  that  the  war  is  still  going  on,  just  as  there  are 
said  to  be  mountaineers  in  Tennessee  who  still  imagine 
that  Andrew  Jackson  is  a  candidate  for  the  presidency. 
But  Andrew  Jackson  is  not  more  unmistakably  dead  and 
buried  than  the  baptismal  controversy.  No  scholar  of 
world-wide  repute  would  risk  his  fame  by  denying  that 


PROGRESS  OF  BAPTIST  PRINCIPLES        413 

the  primitive  baptism  was  immersion,  and  immersion 
only.  Not  more  than  one  or  two  Greek  lexicons  ever 
printed  give  any  other  meaning  for  the  word  baptizo 
than  "  immerse  "  or  "  dip  "  or  their  equivalents  in  other 
languages/  No  exegete  of  the  first  rank  attributes  any 
other  meaning  than  this  to  the  word  wherever  it  occurs 
in  the  New  Testament.  No  church  historian  of  the 
first  rank  has  put  his  name  to  any  other  statement  than 
that  in  apostolic  times  baptism  was  always  the  immer- 
sion of  a  believer.  The  admissions  to  this  effect  from 
Pedobaptist  scholars  of  all  countries  during  the  last  three 
centuries  are  numbered  by  scores,  even  by  hundreds. 
There  is  no  voice  to  the  contrary  except  from  men  of 
scant  scholarship,  and  the  question  is  no  longer  disputed 
by  anybody  who  is  worth  the  attention  of  a  serious 
person. 

The  candid  Pedobaptists  have  entirely  changed  their 
ground.  They  no  longer  engage  in  pettifogging  about 
the  meaning  of  baptiso  and  the  force  of  certain  Greek 
prepositions ;  they  boldly  acknowledge,  with  Dean  Stan- 
ley, that  "  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  original  form 
of  baptism — the  very  meaning  of  the  word — was  com- 
plete immersion  in  the  deep  baptismal  waters,"  but  that 
such  immersion  is  "  peculiarly  unsuitable  to  the  tastes, 
the  convenience,  and  the  feelings  of  the  countries  of  the 
North  and  West."  This  argument  ignores,  to  be  sure, 
the  historical  fact  that  sprinkling  originated  in  the  warm 
South,  and  immersion  lingered  longest  in  a  cold  country 
like  England ;  but  never  mind  that.  The  triumphant  con- 
clvision  is  fine — this  quite  unauthorized  substitution  of 
sprinkling  for  immersion,  though  it  "  has  set  aside  the 
larger  part  of  the  apostolic  language  regarding  baptism, 

1  The  secondary  meaning,  "  to  dye,"  recognized  in  most  lexicons,  cannot 
be  called  another  meaning,  since  it  expresses  a  mere  modification  of  the 
root  signification   of   the  word — the  dyeing  is  performed  by  dipping. 


414  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

and  has  altered  the  very  meaning  of  the  word,"  is  never- 
theless to  be  regarded  as  "  a  striking  example  of  the 
triumph  of  common  sense  and  convenience  over  the 
bondage  of  form  and  custom." 

To  meet  their  opponents  on  this  changed  ground,  Bap- 
tists have  but  to  stand  by  their  cardinal  principle  that  the 
authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  expressed  to  us 
through  the  Scriptures,  is  paramount  with  a  true  follower 
of  Christ.  When  he  says.  Do  this,  whatever  it  may  be, 
his  loyal  follower  has  no  choice  but  to  obey.  And  he 
cannot  long  persuade  himself  or  persuade  the  world  that  it 
is  obedience  to  do  something  quite  different,  under  the 
plea  that  "  it  will  do  just  as  well."  Nothing  will  do  as 
well  as  unquestioning,  exact,  glad  obedience  to  Christ's 
lightest  word. 

It  would  be  flattering  to  denominational  pride  to  say 
that  a  third  Baptist  contribution  to  Christian  thought  is 
the  doctrine  as  to  the  place  of  the  Lord's  Supper  among 
the  ordinances  of  Christ ;  but  to  say  this  would  not  be 
true.  The  Baptist  doctrine  in  this  respect  has  never  been 
peculiar,  though  opponents  have  sometimes  made  strenu- 
ous efforts  to  represent  it  as  such.  There  is  not — there 
never  has  been — a  Christian  body  whose  standards  author- 
ized its  clergy  to  administer  the  communion  to  the  un- 
baptized.  Individual  ministers  have  stretched  church  law 
to  cover  their  own  wrong  practice  in  this  regard.  It  is 
not  uncommon,  for  example,  for  Episcopal  clergymen  to 
admit  to  the  communion  practically  all  who  present  them- 
selves and  are  not  known  to  them  to  be  persons  of  im- 
moral life,  and  they  sometimes  invite  people  whom  they 
know  to  be  Christians  not  in  fellowship  with  their  church. 

These  things  are,  however,  done  in  spite  of  the  rubric, 
which  says,  "  And  there  shall  none  be  admitted  to  the 
Holy  Communion  until  such  time  as  he  be  confirmed  or 
be  ready  and  desirous  to  be  confirmed."     If  Episcopal 


PROGRESS   OF   BATTIST   PRINCIPLES  415 

ministers  here  and  there  violate  the  vvell-estabHshed  rule 
of  their  own  church,  that  cannot  be  regarded  as  altering 
the  rule.  This  principle  applies  equally  to  pastors  of 
Presbyterian,  Methodist,  and  Congregational  churches 
that  on  their  own  authority  invite  to  the  Lord's  table 
other  than  baptized  Christians.  Their  church  formularies 
authorize  no  such  invitation. 

Only  the  exceptionally  ignorant  or  the  exceptionally 
unscrupulous  now  reproach  Baptists  because  of  their 
"  close  "  communion,  since  intelligent  and  candid  Pedo- 
baptists  know  and  acknowledge  that  we  stand  precisely 
where  all  Christendom  stands,  and  where  all  Christendom 
always  has  stood  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  until  now, 
with  regard  to  the  qualifications  for  communion.  All  that 
Baptists  can  claim  to  have  done  in  this  matter  is  to  have 
cleared  away  the  mass  of  sophistries  with  which  op- 
ponents had  beclouded  this  question,  until  no  excuse  for 
ignorance  and  no  apology  for  misrepresentation  are 
possible. 

But  if  Baptists  cannot  properly  claim  the  honor  of 
contributing  this  principle  to  Christian  thought,  they  can 
honestly  claim  to  have  added  another  principle,  namely, 
that  the  union  of  Chiirch  and  State  is  contrary  to 
the  word  of  God,  contrary  to  natural  justice,  and  de- 
structive to  both  parties  to  the  union.  Next  to  a  regen- 
erate church-membership,  this  has  been  the  principle  for 
which  Baptists  have  most  strenuously  contended  and  witli 
which  they  have  been  most  prominently  identified.  For 
this  teaching  they  were  from  the  time  of  the  Reformation 
until  a  period  within  the  memory  of  men  now  living,  de- 
spised and  rejected  of  men,  loaded  with  opprobrium,  re- 
viled, persecuted,  put  to  death.  Toleration  was  a  byword 
and  a  hissing  among  all  parties  of  Christians,  and  re- 
ligious liberty  was  an  idea  that  apparently  never  entered 
men's    minds    until    it    was    professed,    defended,    and 


4l6  A    SHORT    HISTORY   OP   THE    BAPTISTS 

exemplified  by  Baptists.  It  is  difficult  for  Americans,  liv- 
ing in  an  atmosphere  of  perfect  religious  liberty,  where 
no  law  restrains  any  man  from  worshiping  God  in  any 
way  that  his  conscience  dictates,  or  compels  him  to  con- 
tribute of  his  substance  to  the  support  of  any  worship 
that  he  does  not  approve — it  is  hard  for  us  even  to  im- 
agine a  state  of  society  in  which  the  majority  determined 
what  the  community  should  believe,  how  men  should 
worship  God,  land  repressed  all  dissent  with  savage  laws 
and  penalties  that  did  not  stop  short  of  the  stake  and  the 
scaffold.  _^_ 

The  once  despised  teaching  of  a  few  Baptists  has  be- 
come a  commonplace  of  thought  in  our  country,  a  funda- 
mental principle  of  law,  and  he  would  be  laughed  at 
who  should  propose  its  overthrow  or  even  its  modifica- 
tion. But  to  appreciate  what  change  has  been  wrought 
by  this  idea  in  American  religious  and  civil  life,  an 
American  must  study  the  institutions  of  Europe,  where 
there  is  no  State  that  has  not  its  established  church, 
where  dissent  from  the  established  religion  is  punished 
more  or  less  severely  by  civil  and  social  disabilities,  if 
not  by  imprisonment  and  fines  ;  and  where,  even  if  un- 
molested, those  who  dissent  from  the  established  religion 
are,  nevertheless,  heavily  taxed  for  its  support.  This  was 
the  principle  that  prevailed  during  the  colonial  period 
in  our  own  land.  This  would  be  the  system  under  which 
we  should  now  be  living  had  not  this  despised  principle, 
of  the  Baptists  become  incorporated  into  the  very  spiritual 
and  moral  fiber  of  the  American  people. 

There  is  still  reason  why  Baptists  should  continue  to 
bear  their  testimony  in  favor  of  this  principle.  It  is  gen- 
erally acknowledged  and  professed,  but  not  always 
obeyed.  The  separation  of  Church  and  State  is  not  yet  ab- 
solutely complete.  Appropriations  are  made  from  Federal 
and  State  funds  for  the  support  of  sectarian  institutions  on 


PROGRESS   OF   BAPTIST   PRINCIPLES  417 

one  plausible  pretext  or  another ;  a  certain  denomination  is 
recognized  as  having  ahnost  a  monopoly  of  chaplain- 
ships  in  the  army  and  navy,  and  its  form  of  worship  is 
generally  maintained  in  both  services;  in  some  States 
inoffensive  people  who  conscientiously  observe  the  seventh 
day  are  prosecuted  and  punished  by  fines  or  imprison- 
ment for  quietly  laboring  in  the  fields  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week.  And  it  is  a  fair  question  for  debate  whether 
the  exemption  of  church  property  from  taxation  is  not 
a  relic  of  the  old  idea  of  church  establishments.  Here 
are  still  opportunities  for  Baptists  to  lift  up  the  voice  in 
behalf  of  their  cherished  principle,  to  cry  aloud  and  spare 
not,  until  it  is  not  only  acknowledged  to  be  abstractly 
true,  but  is  concretely  obeyed. 

The  Baptist  principle  of  the  independence  of  each 
church  has  also  won  its  way  to  a  very  considerable  de- 
gree of  acceptance  among  churches  of  all  orders.  Among 
the  Presbyterian,  Episcopalian,  and  Methodist  churches, 
although  in  theory  there  is  a  more  or  less  centralized  and 
hierarchical  government,  the  independence  of  the  local 
church  is  practically  unquestioned.  The  Methodist  bishop 
still  retains  his  theoretical  power  of  ordering  any  man  to 
any  church,  but  it  somehow  happens  that  where  a  church 
desires  a  certain  pastor,  and  the  pastor  desires  to  settle 
with  that  church,  the  bishop  makes  that  identical  ap- 
pointment. The  Episcopal  bishop  has,  in  theory,  large 
powers;  in  practice,  every  Episcopal  church  chooses  its 
own  rector  as  absolutely  as  though  there  were  no  bishop. 
In  theory,  no  Presbyterian  church  can  call  a  pastor,  and 
no  pastor  can  be  dismissed,  without  the  concurrence  of 
presbytery;  but  where  both  parties  have  made  up  their 
minds,  presbytery  always  concurs. 

Baptists  have  also  contributed  their  share  to  the  world's 
advancement  by  their  interest  in  missions,  in  education,  in 
Sunday-schools,  and  in  general  philanthropic  movements. 


4l8  A    SHORT    iliSTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

The  facts  that  justify  this  claim  have  been  given  in 
detail  in  previous  chapters  of  this  history,  and  only  this 
statement  needs  to  be  made  here,  by  way.  of  giving  com- 
pleteness to  this  brief  summary.  Though  not,  strictly 
speaking,  pioneers  in  most  of  these  forms  of  religious 
activity,  our  churches  have  helped  to  bear  the  heat  and 
burden  of  the  day. 

Though  Baptists  have  thus  powerfully  influenced  other 
bodies  of  Christians,  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  infer  that 
they  have  themselves  escaped  modifications  in  belief  and 
practice  through  the  influence  of  other  Christian  brethren. 
Mr.  Spurgeon  was  reported,  some  years  ago,  as  proudly 
remarking  that  he  had  never  changed  an  opinion,  and  that 
he  then  preached  precisely  what  he  did  when  he  began 
his  ministry.  The  remark  is  probably  not  authentic,  and 
was  certainly  not  true ;  and  if  it  had  been  true,  it  would 
be  a  reflection  on  the  intelligence  of  a  man  who  could 
spend  fifty  years  in  the  ministry  without  learning  any- 
thing. Mr.  Spurgeon's  admirers,  and  their  name  is  legion, 
cannot  think  so  meanly  of  him.  If  a  great  preacher  can- 
not live  and  labor  a  half-century  without  having  his  be- 
liefs modified,  still  less  can  a  large  body,  composed  of 
many  elements,  some  of  them  discordant,  exposed  to 
numerous  hostile  and  disintegrating  influences,  and  sub- 
ject to  those  laws  of  development  and  growth  that  afifect 
all  social  organisms.  Change  was  inevitable,  but  change 
is  not  necessarily  deterioration.  Whether  the  modifica- 
tion is  for  the  better  may  be  left  for  the  decision  of 
theologians ;  the  historian  merely  records  the  fact. 

Modifications  in  Baptist  faith  and  practice  during  the 
last  two  centuries  may  be  noted  (i)  in  the  character  of 
public  worship,  (2)  in  a  less  rigidly  Calvinistic  theology, 
(3)  in  a  change  of  emphasis  that  marks  the  preaching 
of  our  day. 

The  feeling  has  gained  ground  among  Baptist  pastors 


PROGRESS  OF  BAPTIST  PRINCIPLES  419 

of  late  years  that  the  pubUc  worship  of  our  churches 
lacks  elements  of  color  and  variety  and  richness  that  it 
should  have,  and  that  it  has  departed  from  the  scrip- 
tural method  in  practically  giving  over  the  public 
worship  of  God  to  two  hired  functionaries — the  minister 
and  the  choir.  The  introduction  of  congregational  sing- 
ing and  the  use  of  the  Psalter,  as  well  as  certain  ancient 
forms  of  devotion  that  are.  the  common  heritage  of 
Christendom  and  not  the  property  of  any  church,  has 
followed  close  on  the  conviction.  Something  like  a  gen- 
eral tendency  in  this  direction  is  now  observable,  but  how 
far  it  will  proceed  it  were  vain  to  speculate. 

That  both  Calvinism  and  Arminianism  have  been  so 
modified  as  to  bear  little  relation  to  the  systems  once 
passing  under  these  names  is  so  well  understood,  and 
so  little  likely  to  be  questioned,  that  it  is  not  worth  while 
to  waste  space  in  more  than  a  statement  of  the  fact. 
Each  has  reacted  on  the  other,  and  between  the  latest 
statements  of  the  two  opposing  systems  a  critical  stu- 
dent can  discern  little  more  than  a  difference  of  empha- 
sis. Both  assert  the  sovereign  election  and  free  grace  of 
God  as  the  ground  of  the  sinner's  salvation ;  both  admit 
that  the  will  of  man,  free  as  regards  all  external  con- 
straint, accepts  God's  proffered  grace ;  the  Calvinist  laying 
the  greater  stress  on  the  former  idea,  the  Arminian  on 
the  latter. 

This  matter  of  a  changed  emphasis  has  not  been  con- 
fined to  theological  circles  alone ;  it  has  affected  every 
pulpit.  Any  one  who  will  read  the  published  discourses 
of  a  century  ago  and  compare  them  with  those  of  the 
present  day  must  be  struck  by  this  fact.  The  same  doc- 
trines are  professed  and  believed  as  then,  but  how  differ- 
ent the  mode  of  presentation.  The  eternity  of  future 
punishment  is  still  an  article  of  faith,  but  the  preacher  no 
longer  threatens   sinners   with   a   hell   of   material   fire. 


420  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    BAPTISTS 

Retribution  is  conceived  as  something  at  once  more  spirit- 
ual and  more  terrible  than  physical  torture.  The  infinite 
love  of  God  as  shown  in  the  redemption  of  a  lost  world ; 
the  atonement  a  satisfaction  for  its  sins ;  salvation  not  a 
thing  of  the  future  life,  but  beginning  here  and  now,  not 
a  mere  rescue  from  hell,  but  the  consecration  of  a  life  to 
God — these  are  the  ideas  that  are  most  emphasized  in  the 
best  preaching  of  to-day.  ^  To  note  the  change  is  not  to 
pronounce  judgment  on  either  the  past  or  the  present. 

Another  change  is  at  present  in  progress  among  Bap- 
tists, but  it  is  too  soon  to  attempt  to  record  its  history. 
Two  parties  are  in  process  of  formation  in  the  denomina- 
tion, one  who  call  themselves  Progressives,  another  com- 
monly called  Conservatives.  The  names  are  not  very 
happily  chosen,  but  they  are  convenient,  and  their  appli- 
cation is  generally  understood.  These  parties  differ  on 
questions  of  speculative  theology,  of  history,  of  literary 
criticism,  of  denominational  policy,  of  church  order.  At 
times  there  are  symptoms  that  their  opposition  may  break 
out  into  an  open  warfare ;  at  times  a  peaceful  issue  seems 
not  only  hopeful,  but  certain. 

In  the  judgment  of  men  of  other  faiths,  the  most  char- 
acteristic fact  in  the  history  of  the  Baptists  during  the 
last  two  centuries  has  been,  not  their  rapid  growth  in 
numbers,  but  their  marvelous  continuity  of  belief,  their 
orthodoxy  of  doctrine.  It  is  the  wonder  of  many  mem- 
bers of  other  churches  having  elaborate  written  stand- 
ards, and  an  ingenious  system  of  checks  and  devices  to 
prevent  and  punish  heresy,  that  a  denomination  without 
a  creed,  without  a  government,  with  no  central  authority 
or  other  human  device  for  preserving  unity,  with  each 
local  organization  a  law  unto  itself  and  responsible  to 
none  save  Christ — that  such  a  rope  of  sand  should  hold 
together  at  all,  much  less  sustain  a  strain  that  the 
strongest  bodies  have  borne  none  too  well. 


PROGRESS   OF   BAPTIST   PRINCIPLES  421 

But  one  cause  can  be  plausibly  assigned  for  this  phe- 
nomenon, and  that  is,  Baptist  loyalty  to  their  fundamental 
principle,  the  word  of  God  the  only  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.  The  Scriptures  are  easily  "  understanded  of  the 
people,"  even  the  unlettered  who  approach  them  with 
open  minds  desiring  to  know  the  will  of  God.  Such 
may  not  become  great  biblical  scholars,  but  they  will  learn 
everything  that  it  is  important  for  them  to  know  for 
their  eternal  salvation  and  daily  guidance.  They  may 
not  become  profound  theologians,  but  they  will  learn 
the  cardinal  truths  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  learn  them 
more  accurately  in  their  right  relations  than  the  student 
of  some  human  system  is  likely  to  learn  them. 

Loyalty  to  this  principle  has  been  the  strength  of 
Baptists  in  the  past,  and  as  they  are  loyal  to  it  in  future 
they  may  expect  increase  in  numbers,  in  strength,  and 
in  unity. 


INDEX 


Abelard,  teacher  of  Arnold,  80, 

Act    of   Toleration :    effect    on    English 

Baptists,  256  :  effect  in  Wales,  271. 
Academies:      Hopewell,    352;     in    New 
England,  355;     Horton   (N.  S.),  283; 
recent  progress  of,  369,  371. 
Adventists,  origin  of,  393. 
Affusion :     among    Swiss    Anabaptists, 
136 ;    among   Mennonites,  190 ;    prac- 
tised by  John  Smyth,  204. 
Albigenses  :      numerous      in     Southern 
France,  103  ;  crushed  by  crusade,  104. 
Allison,  Doctor  Burgess,  352. 
AUine,  Henry,  evangelist,  277. 
Amsterdam,  first    Baptist  church  in,  4, 

203. 
Anabaptists  :   name  misapplied  to  Eng- 
lish  believers,  3:     English   7'S.    Conti- 
nental, 4 ;    Novatians   and    Donatists 
so  named,  66  ;  relation  to  Waldeuses, 
128.  130;  origin  of  Swiss,  129:  become 
separate    party,    136 ;     persecution    in 
Zurich,  138,  140;    disappear,   141;    in 
canton    of    Bern,     142  :      emigrate    to 
America,     143:     teachings     of,     144; 
many  varieties  in  Germany,  146  :  their 
sudden   appearance,   148 ;    opposed    to 
persecution.    161  ;     persecuted    every- 
where, 161  ;  Sebastian  Franck  on,  165  ; 
Miinzer  not  of  them,  174;  discredited 
by     disorders     at     I\Iiinster,     179-181  ; 
Melanchthon   on  persecution   of,  181  ; 
in    Moravia,   154,   182;    disappearance 
of,    184  ;    number  of   martyrs   among, 
188;     Henry    VIII.    persecutes,    193: 
Joan  of   Kent   burned,   195;    Edward 
Wightman  burned,  197. 
Anderson,  Martin  B.,  357. 
Anderson,  Rev.  Elisha,  278. 
Andru,  Rev.  Henri,  396. 
Angus,  Rev.  Joseph,  267. 
Angrogne,  Synod  of,  126. 
Anti-mission  Baptists,  326,  333,  388. 
Antioch,  crisis  at,  20. 
Antinomianism  :    among   Bogomils,  78; 

in  England,  240. 

Arius  and  his  teachings  :  condemned  by 

Council  of  Nice,  67  ;  favored  by  J  ulian, 

63.  ,       , 

Arnold     of     Brescia :     his     evangelical 

teaching,  q ;  life  and  labors,  8&-85. 
Arminius :    his    theology,    203-205 ;    his 

teachings  modified,  419. 
Asceticism,  growth  of,  55,  60. 
Aspersion,  first  recognized,  49. 
Associations:    first  formed  in  England, 
239;    General    Baptist,  247  ;    Six-prin- 


ciple, 267 ;  in  Nova  Scotia,  280 ;  in 
New  Brunswick,  281  ;  in  the  United 
States  :  Philadelphia,  306,  310,  314 ; 
Kehukee,  317;  Mahoning,  Redstone, 
Dover,  343. 

Athanasius  and  his  teaching,  68-70. 

Augsburg,  Anabaptists  of,  4,  158. 

Augustine:  his  adult  baptism,  50;  op- 
poses Donatists,  66;  defends  perse- 
cution, 97. 

Australasia,  Baptists  in,  285. 

Baptism  :    act    of,   4  ;    immediately    fol- 
lowed belief,  25  ;    clinic,  48;    regarded 
as    sacrament,  46 ;    and    the    catechu- 
menate,  51  ;    "  for  remission  of  sins," 
343  ;  Dean  Stanley  on,  413. 
Baptism  of  believers  :   the  original  prac- 
tice, 4;    continued    for    centuries,    50; 
practised  by  Patrick,  72  :  by  Bogomils, 
77;    by    Petrobrusians,   114;    by    Hen- 
ricians,   ii8  :    by  Waldenses,  123,  126: 
by    Anabaptists,   136;     the    distinctive 
Baptist    principle,    146 ;    practised    by 
Smyth's  church,  204. 
Baptism  of  infants:    not  found  in  New 
Testament,  26  ;   how  and  when  intro- 
duced. 49,  50:  practised  by  Donatists, 
66  ;    denied    by    medieval    sects,    102 ; 
rejected   by   Henry  of   Lausanne,  118; 
by    Waldenses,  123,   126 ;    opposed    by 
Miinzer,  171  :   rejected  by  Mennonites, 
190;  questioned  by  Dunster,  297. 
Baptists  :    name   first   given,  3,  4 ;    first 
church   of,  4,  203  ;  and    apostolic    suc- 
cession,   6-10 ;      beginnings     of,    zoi  : 
origin  of  General,  204  ;  fake  claims  of 
antiquity  of,  205;  origin  of  Particular, 
205:    growth  of,  211;    relations  of,  to 
Mennonites,  209;    on    side    of   Parlia- 
ment, 219:  under  Cromwell.  222:  and 
Fifth  Monarchy,  224  :  under  James  II., 
234;  curious  customs  of  English,  235; 
slow  growth  of,  237  ;   General  Assembly 
of,    238  :     first    Associations    of,    239 ; 
Hyper-Calvinism  among.  240;  decline 
of,  241  :  effect  of  Wesleyan   movement 
on,  245:     Dan    Taylor  joins    General, 
246  ;  comparative  growth  of,  262  ;   pe- 
riods in  history  of  American,  287;    in 
New  York,  302  ;  in  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey,  304  ;    in  South  Carolina, 
306  ;  in  Virginia,  307  ;  in   North  Caro- 
lina, 307  ;   slow  growth  of  in  New  Eng- 
land, 308  ;  in  New  Hampshire  and  Ver- 
mont,   313 :     their   period    of   greatest 
advance,  319  :  pioneers  in  Middle  West, 


424 


INDEX 


321  ;  condition  in  1850,  362  ;  growth  in 
last  fifty  years,  366  ;  increase  of  wealth 
among,  379  ;  secret  of  their  growth,  380, 
421  ;  oppose  Unitarians,  411  ;  two  par- 
ties among,  420. 

Baptists  in  Australasia,  285;  in  France, 
394,  seg.  ;  in  Germany,  396,  seg.  ;  in 
Sweden,  400,  sey. ;  in  Norway,  403  ; 
in  Russia,  406. 

Baptists,  minor  varieties  of:  Six-prin- 
ciple, 267,  384;  Seventh-day,  268,  390; 
Free,  385,  seg.  ;  Original  Freewill,  385  ; 
Separate,  387  ;  United,  387  ;  Primitive, 
388  ;  Two-seed-in-Spirit,  389. 

"  Baptist  Almanac,"  quoted,  363. 

Baptist  Church  of  Christ,  389. 

Baptist  Union  :  organization,  256  ;  Spur- 
geon  withdraws  from,  261. 

"  Baptist  Year-Book,"  quoted,  362,  369, 
378. 

Barnabas,  work  at  Antioch,  20. 

Basil  the  Bogomil,  78. 

Baxter,  abhors  toleration,  220. 

Baynes,  Thomas  Spencer,  261. 

Beecher,  Rev.  Lyman,  320. 

Bern  :  Anabaptists  of,  141 ;  disputation 
at.  153- 

Bernard  of  Clairvaux  :  opposes  Abelard 
and  Arnold,  82  ;  his  bitterness  as  per- 
secutor, 109  ;  writes  against  Henry  of 
Lausanne,  117. 

Bible,  versions  of:  Carey's,  254,  257; 
Judson's,  236  ;  Yates  and  Pearce's, 
258. 

Bible  societies:  British  and  Foreign, 
257;  Bible  Translation,  258:  Ameri- 
can, 336  ;  American  and  Foreign,  338; 
American  Bible  Union,  338. 

Bickel,  Rev.  Philip,  361,  399. 

Bintgens  case,  among  Mennonites,  192. 

Bishop:  origin  of  name,  30;  how  sepa- 
rate office  of,  developed,  53  ;  Ignatius 
on,  54  I  Irena^us  and  Cyprian  on,  54  ; 
in  Patrick's  time,  73.     (See  Elders.) 

Blaurock,  George  :  Swiss  Anabaptist, 
135  ;  imprisoned  at  Zurich,  137  ;  burned, 
140. 

Blunt,  Richard,  baptism  of,  207. 

Bockhold  ("  John  of  Leyden")  and  his 
doings  in  Miinster,  179. 

Bogomils  :  origin  of.  76  ;  doctrines  of,  77. 

Bohemia,  revolt  against  Rome,  89,  seg. 

Bohemian  Brethren  (see  Moravians). 

Bowne,  John,  banished,  303. 

Braintree  Church,  205. 

Brescia:  Arnold  preaches  in,  80;  Savo- 
narola's preaching  at.  87. 

Bridgewater  Church,  205. 

British  East  India  Company,  opposes 
missions,  253. 

Britten,  William,  3. 

Boardman,  Rev.  George  Dana,  334. 

Brown,  Chad,  "elder"  in  Providence, 
292. 

Brown,  Nicholas,  354. 

Buckle,  on  persecution  of  Anabaptists, 
188. 

Bulgaria  and  the  Bogomils,  75. 

Banyan,  John  :  his  "Grace  Abounding," 


213  ;  not  an  orthodox  Baptist,  232  ;  his 
writings,    233  ;    advocates    open    com- 
munion, 263  ;  as  a  preacher,  266. 
Busher,  Leonard,  208. 

Caecilian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  64. 

Caffyn,  Matthew,  238. 

Calvin,  and  the  burning  of  Servetus,  139. 

Calvinism  :  among  Particular  Baptists, 
240:  modified,  419. 

Campbell,  Alexander,  and  his  followers, 
342,  seg. 

Canada,  Baptists  in,  276,  seg. 

Carey,  William :  a  great  linguist,  251, 
254  ;  life  and  labors  of,  259,  seg.  ; 
opposed  by  Hyper-Calvinists,  326. 

Carson,  Alexander,  life  and  work  of,  275, 
276. 

Carmichael,  Robert,  becomes  Baptist, 
272. 

Catechumenate,  history  of,  51. 

Cathari,  64,  75,  102. 

Celsus,  confuted  by  Origen,  41. 

Chaplin,  Rev.  Jeremiah,  355. 

"  Character  of  the  Beast,"  John  Smyth's 
book,  203. 

Charles  L,  and  his  contest  with  his 
people,  219,  227,  228. 

Charles  II.:  and  Kiffen,  214;  and  the 
Act  of  Uniformity,  217,  231  ;  resto- 
ration of,  226;  favors  toleration,  230; 
Grantham's  petition  to,  239;  influence 
of  his  reign,  242 ;  grants  charter  to 
Rhode  Island,  295. 

Charles  V.  and  the  Edict  of  Brussels, 
188. 

Chase,  Rev.  Irah,  394. 

Chiliasm  :  among  Montanists,  60  ;  among 
Anabaptists,  155,  171,  176,  179:  in 
England,  223-226  :  in  America,  393. 

Christianity  :  its  early  Jewish  ideals.  16; 
becomes  diflferentiated  from  Judaism, 
18;  crisis  in  its  history.  20  :  propagated 
through  empire,  21  ;  legal  status  under 
Roman  law,  35,  seg.  ;  attacks  on  and 
apologies  for,  39-41  ;  corrupted  by 
prosperity,  43,  56. 

Christian  V.,  king  of  Denmark,  favors 
persecution,  405. 

christian  Endeavor,  Society  of,  359,  seg. 

Christians  or  Christian  Connection,  393. 

Christadelphians,  393. 

Church:  continuity  of,  5  ;  the  invisible, 
7:  but  twice  mentioned  by  Jesus,  13; 
relation  to  kingdom,  14,  24  ;  consists 
of  regenerate  only,  26,  114,  134,  146, 
149,  410 ;  officers  of,  29-31  ;  inde- 
pendence of.  31,  417:  worship  of,  32, 
33  ;  idea  of  Holy  Catholid,  44,  seg.  : 
Montanist  theory  of,  58 ;  Arnold's 
teachings  about,  81  ;  Roman  concep- 
tion of,  86,  100;  Petrobrusian  theory 
of,  114  ;  radical  theory  of,  in  Zurich, 
146 ;  Menno's  teaching  concerning, 
187. 

Church  of  God  (see  Winnebrenner). 

Church  and  State :  union  under  Con- 
stantine,  95 ;  Arnold  demands  sepa- 
ration of,  81,  83  ;  separation  begun  in 


INDEX 


425 


United  States,  319,  seg.  ;  not  yet  fully 
accomplished,  416. 
Church  of  England  :  baptism  in,  198 ; 
dissenters  from,  206,  231,  235  (see  also 
Separates)  ;  and  Archbishop  Laud, 
2ig  ;  under  Cromwell,  222  ;  under 
Charles    II.,  231  ;    hostile    to  Wesley, 

243  ;  effect  of  W'esleyan  movement  on, 

244  ;  undertakes  missionary  work,  257. 
Churches:    Southwark,   260;     Swansea, 

269,  299  ;  Piscataway,  287.  288,  304  ; 
Middletown,  288,  304;  Providence,  292; 
Newport,  294  ;  Boston,  300  ;  Charles- 
town,  301,  306  ;  Pennepack,  304  ;  Hav- 
erhill, 311  ;    New  York,  317;   Chicago, 

329- 

Clarke,  Dr.  John  :  early  life  of  293  ; 
"elder"  at  Newport,  294;  procures  a 
charter,  295  ;  arrested  in   Boston,  298. 

Clement  of  Rome,  uses  sacerdotal  terms, 
53- 

Clergy,  not  a  New  Testament  word,  30. 

Clerical  celibacy,  55. 

Clifford,  Rev.  John,  261. 

"Close"  communion:  practised  by 
Swiss  Anabaptists,  144 ;  by  Smyth's 
church,  204  ;  by  English  Baptists,  211  ; 
in  Canada,  280;  principle  of,  generally 
approved,  415. 

Clugny,  monastery  of,  115. 

Coggeshall  Church,  205. 

Colby  University  (college),  355. 

Colgate,  William,  357. 

Columbian  University,  356. 

Communion  :  apostolic  practice  in,  28  ; 
regarded  as  a  sacrament,  52  ;  qualifi- 
cations for,  414.  (See  "Close"  com- 
munion and  "  Open  "  communion.) 

Communism,  at  Jerusalem,  14. 

Conant.  Rev.  Thomas  J.,  405 

Cone,  Dr.  Spencer  H.,  338. 

Confession  :  the  Assembly's,  3  ;  Schleith- 
eim.  144:  of  1644,  211  ;  of  1677,  237; 
others,  238. 

Constance,  bishop  of,  152. 

Constance:  Hus  burned  at,  93  ;  Hatzer's 
death  at,  140,  141. 

Constantine  :  effect  of  his  policy,  56; 
decides  against  the  Donatists,  65  ; 
calls  Council  of  Nice,  67. 

Controversy  :  baptismal  in  England,  209, 
210  ;  on  Bible  versions  in  England,  258  ; 
on  communion,  263;  "down  grade," 
261  ;  Unitarian,  335  :  Bible  Society,  336, 
sei;.:  Anti-masonic,  341,  sei/.  :  Camp- 
bellite  or  Disciple,  342  ;  anti-slavery, 
344  ;  baptismal  in  America,  412  ;  com- 
munion, 414. 

Colleges :  Canadian,  283,  se^. ;  other, 
355.  359.  ^eq.;  development  of,  in  recent 
years,  367,  seq. 

Convention  :  Saratoga,  340  ;  Southern 
Baptist,  347  ;  Triennial,  332,  349. 

Conventicle  Act,  231. 

Cornelius,  conversion  of.  18. 

Cornelius,  chosen  bishop  of  Rome,  63. 

Cornelius  (historian)  :  on  persecution  of 
Anabaptists,  165;  on  Miinster  uproar, 
180. 


Council :  Jerusalem,  20,  31  ;  at  Nice,  96  ; 
Ravenna,  49;  Second  Lateran,  82  ;  at 
Sens,  82;  at  Constance,  92,  93;  at 
Rheims,  ii8 ;  Fourth  Lateran,  io(, 
128;  Toulouse,  X28;  Tarracona,  128. 

Crandall,  Reuben,  279. 

Cranmer  and  Anabaptists,  193. 

Crawford.  Alexander,  280. 

Cromwell,  Oliver  :  Baptists  trusted  by, 
219,  220  ;  his  ideas  of  toleration,  221  ; 
his  Triers,  222  ;  ambition  of,  223,  228 

Crosby,  Thomas,  Baptist  historian,  205, 
206,  207. 

Crowle  and  Epworth  Church,  205. 

Cyprian  :  on  bishops,  34  :  becomes  mar- 
'y>  37  '•  0°  clinic  baptism,  48. 

Dean,  Rev.  William,  334. 

Deacons,  first  appointed,  29. 

Decius,  persecution  of,  37. 

De  Blois,  Rev.  Stephen,  278. 

Deism  in  England,  241. 

Delaney,  Rev.  James,  323. 

Denmark,  Baptists  in,  404,  seg. 

Denck,  John,  Anabaptist  leader  :  life  of, 

157  ;  his  theology,  158  ;  his  last  years, 

159  ;  on  civil  government,  176. 
Devan,  T.  T.,  395. 
Devonshire  Square  Church,  275. 
Dexter,  Gregory,  "  elder  "  at  Providence, 

292. 
Diet  of  Speyer,  its  edict,  164. 
Dimocks,  the,  Baptist  preachers,  276. 
Diocletian  and  his  persecution,  37. 
Disciples,  origin  of,  342,  seq. 
Discipline  :     among    Mennonites,    192  ; 

among  English   Baptists,  236  ;    recent 

decline  of,  381. 
Dolomore,  Rev.  D.,  286. 
Domestic   Missionary   Society  (Mass.), 

279. 
Donatists  :  origin  of,  64  ;    appeal   to  the 

emperor,  65;  practise  infant  baptism, 

66  ;  called  Anabaptists,  146. 
"Dropping,"  growth  of  practice,  381. 
Dungan,  Rev.  Thomas,  304. 
Dunster,    Henry,    opposes    baptism    of 

infants,  297. 

Eaton.  Rev.  Isaac,  352. 

Eck,  John,  149. 

Education  :  among  English  Baptists, 
266  ;  among  American  Baptists,  350, 
seq.,  366,  seq.  (See  Colleges,  Semina- 
ries, etc.) 

Edwards,  Morgan,  life  and  labors  of, 
314- 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  411. 

Elders  :  origin  of,  29  ;  plurality  of,  31. 
(See  Bishops.) 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  persecutes  Anabap- 
tists, 195. 

English  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  252. 

Erasmus  :  his  New  Testament,  131  ;  rank 
of,  as  scholar,  150. 

Eucharist  (see  Communion). 

Euthymius,  his  account  of  Bogomils,  76. 

Evans,  Christmas,  and  the  Baptists  of 
Wales,  271. 


426 


INDEX 


Evangelical  party,  the  Old  :  protesting 
against  Rome,  iii  ;  Doctor  Keller  on, 
III. 

Eyres,  Nicholas,  304. 

Eythorne  Church,  203. 

Faber,  John,  149. 

Farel  (William),  at  Angrogne,  126. 
Farringdon  Road  Church,  205. 
Fau/lc,  Jacob,  drowned  at  Zurich,  139. 
Feet-washing:    not    an    ordinance,   28; 
practised  as  an  ordinance,  385,  387,  389, 

392- 
Ferdinand,  Archduke,  arrests  HUbmaier, 

156. 
Fifth    Monarchy  men,  in    England,  223, 

224,  226. 
Finney,  Charles  G.,  350. 
Fisher,  Rev.  Ezra,  329. 
Fitch,  Titus,  279. 
Five-mile  Act,  231. 
Florence,    Savonarola's    career    at,    87, 

seq. 
Fox,  George,  148. 

Franciscans  ;    their  founder,  122  ;  over- 
throw Savonarola,  88. 
France,  Baptists  in,  394,  seq. 
Frankenhausen,  battle  of,  172. 
Franck,  Sebastian,  on  Anabaptists,  165. 
Frederick  Barbarossa,  84. 
Free  Baptists,  385,  seq. 
Freerks,  Anabaptist  martyr,  185. 
Freeman,  Rev.  Allen  B.,  329. 
Friends,  affinity  for  Mennonites,  191. 
Friesland,  converts  in,  177. 
Fuller,  Rev.  Andrew  :  life  and  labors  of, 

248  ;    theology  of,  249  ;  works  of,  361  ; 

leader  in  missions,  252,  255. 
Furman,  Rev.  Richard,  352. 
Fiisslin,  on  origin  of  Anabaptists,  129. 

Gainsborough,  John  Smyth  at,  202. 

Gale,  Rev.  Amory,  323. 

Gano,  Rev.  John,  310,  317,  320. 

Garfield,  President,  356. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  345. 

General  Baptists:  origin  and  growth 
of,  204,  seq.  :  General  Assembly  of, 
238  ;  decline  of,  239  ;  New  Connexion 
formed,  247  ;  unite  with  Particular 
Baptists,  257  :  in  America,  388. 

General  Court  (of  Massachusetts)  :  con- 
demns Baptists,  296  ;  case  of  Dunster, 
298 ;  its  treatment  of  Clarke  and 
Holmes,  298  ;  nails  up  doors  of  First 
Baptist  Church,  300. 

'  General  meetings,"  305. 

General  Convention  of  Baptists  :  origin 
of,  332  ;  divided  on  account  of  slavery, 
346. 

Gentiles,  gospel  first  preached  to,  18. 

Germany  :  condition  of  peasants  in,  167; 
social  revolution  in,  168  ;  Baptists  in, 
397,  seq.  ;  Anabaptists  in,  145,  seq.  : 
persecution  the  law  of,  161,  seq. 

"German  Baptists"  (see  Dunkards). 

Gill,  Rev.  John  :  theology  of.  240;  bap- 
tizes Robert  Carmichael,  272. 

Gnosticism,  55,  60. 


Going,  Rev.  Jonathan,  founds  American 

Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  327. 
Goold,  Rev.    Thomas  :    opposes    infant 

baptism,    299 ;     pastor    First    Baptist 

Church,  Boston,  300. 
"  Grace  Abounding,"  213. 
Grantham,  Thomas,  239. 
Great  Commission  :  first  given,   13  ;  the 

ministry's   "  marching   orders,"  252 ; 

practically  nullified,  241. 
Great  Awakening,  309.  313. 
Grebel,  Conrad  :  taught  by  predecessors, 

129:  early  life  of,  134;  his  last  labors 

and  death,  140;  letter  of,  to  Miinzer, 

172. 
Greece,  Baptist  mission  to,  407. 

Hackett,  Horatio  B.,  405. 

Half-way  Covenant,  308,  411. 

Haldane  Brothers,  273,  seq.  :  279. 

Hall,  Robert  :  on  Gill's  commentary, 
240  ;  a  great  preacher,  259  ;  favors  open 
communion,  264. 

Ham,  Rev.  William,  285. 

Hamburg,  senate  :  persecutes  Baptists, 
398  ;  grants  toleration,  399. 

Hamilton,  institutions  at,  356. 

Harding,  Rev.  Seth,  278. 

Harrison,  Gen.  Thomas :  life,  services, 
and  death  of,  226-229 ;  his  opposition 
to  Cromwell,  223,  228. 

Harrison,  Gen.  William  Henry,  324. 

Hascall,  Rev.  Daniel,  356. 

Hiitzer,  Ludwig  :  Anabaptist  leader,  135 ; 
punished  at  Zurich,  137;  his  death  at 
Constance,  140;  his  translation  of 
prophets,  159. 

Havelock,  General,  261. 

Heberle,  on  Anabaptists,  129. 

Hebbard,  Rev.  John,  278. 

Helwys,  Thomas,  English  Baptist  leader, 
202-205. 

Henry,  Patrick,  advocates  religious  lib- 
erty, 319. 

Henry  VIII.,  proclamations  of,  against 
heretics,  193. 

Henry  of  Lausanne,  116,  118. 

Hesse,  Landgrave  of,  dislikes  persecu- 
tion, 164. 

"  High  "  and  "  Low  "  Mennonites,  191, 

Hildebrand  (see  Popes). 

Hill,  David  J.,  357. 

Hill  Cliff  Church,  205. 

Hofmann,  Melchior  :  early  life  of,  175; 
leader  of  Anabaptists,  176  ;  his  impris- 
onment and  death,  177  ;  his  doctrine 
of  Christ's  person,  195. 

Holmes,  Obadiah,  whipped  at  Boston, 
298. 

Holland  :  Hofmann's  labors  in,  176  ; 
grants  toleration,  189  ;  English  Baptists 
in,  201. 

Hopkins,  Mark,  356. 

Holy  Spirit :  descent  of,  at  Pentecost, 
14  ;  Montanist  doctrine  of,  58  ;  com- 
pared to  Friends',  59. 

"  Holy  War,"  Bunyan's,  233. 

Horton  Church,  277. 

Hiibmaicr,  Halthasar  ;  Anabaptist  leader, 


INDEX 


427 


153  :  imprisoned  at  Zurich,  137  ;  early 
years  of,  149 ;  at  Ratisbon  and  Wald- 
shut,  150;  friend  of  Zwingli,  151  :  his 
tracts,  153  ;  labors  of,  at  Nikolsburg, 
154-156  ;  death  of,  156  ;  his  "  Heretics 
and  those  who  burn  them,"  161  ;  his 
relation  to  Miinzer,  171. 

Hughes,  Rev.  Joseph,  257,  336. 

Hurst,  Bishop,  on  Savonarola,  85. 

Hus,  John  :  early  career  of,  89;  disciple 
of  Wiclif,  91  ;  burned  at  Constance,  93. 

Hut,  Hans,  155. 

Hutchinson,  Roger,  on  Anabaptists,  194. 

Ignatius,  on  bishops,  54. 

Immersion  :  practised  by  some  Anabap- 
tists, 4  ;  no  provable  succession  of,  6  ; 
the  apostolic  practice,  14  ;  the  practice 
of,  modified.  47  :  in  Britain,  73  ;  among 
Swiss  Anabaptists,  136  ;  at  Augsburg, 
158;  at  Rhynsburg,  190;  re-intro- 
duced into  England,  207  ;  advocated  by 
Leonard  Busher,  208 ;  controversies 
about,  209  ;  among  Continental  Ana- 
baptists, 210;  first  defined,  211;  of 
General    Harrison,    229;      trine,    390, 

392. 
Independence  of  churches,  31. 
Indulgences,  Samson's  sale  of,  132. 
Interdict,  effect  of,  83. 
Inquisition  :  origin  of,  105  ;  organization 

of,   106  ;    its  process,  107  ;    its  lesson, 

109. 
Irenaeus,  on  bishops,  54. 
Ireland  :  Patrick  preaches  gospel  in,  72, 

seq.  :  not  quickly  Romanized,  74. 
Irvingites  (Catholic  Apostolic  Church), 

compared  to  Montanists,  59. 
Italy,  Baptist  mission  in,  408. 

Jacob,  Rev.  Henry,  206,  207,  213. 
Jackson,   Andrew,   his   victory  at   New 

Orleans,  324. 
James,  Rev.  John,  unjust  execution  of, 

230. 
James  I.,  persecutes  Separatists,  202. 
James   II.:    his    "dispensations,"    234; 

his  persecution  of  KnoUys,    217. 
Jefferson,  Thomas:    advocates  religious 
liberty,    319;    makes    Louisiana    pur- 
chase, 324. 
Jerome,  influence  of,  55. 
Jerusalem  :     church    of,    scattered,    i6  ; 
Council   of,    31  :     communism  at,    14 ; 
immersion  of  three  thousand  at.  ihid. 
Jessey,  Henry  :  English  Separatist  and 
Baptist,  216;  favors  open  communion, 
263. 
Jeter,  Rev.  J.  B.,  343. 
Joan  of  Kent,  Anabaptist  martyr,  195. 
Jones,  Dr.  Samuel,  352. 
John,  King  of  England,  99. 
John,  Elector  of  Saxony,  163. 
Johnson,  Francis,  201,  203. 
Johnson.  Rev.  Hezekiah,  329. 
Judaism,  characteristics  of,  18. 
Judson,    Adoniram  :     becomes    Baptist, 
330,  331  ;  mission  of,  to  Burma,  334  ;  his 
version  of  the  Bible,  334,  336. 


Julian  (the  Apostate)   favors  Arianism, 

68. 
Justin  :  his  apology,  41  ;  on  baptism,  47. 

Keach,  Rev.  Elias,  304. 

Keller,  Dr.  Ludwig  :  on  Old  Evangelical 
party,  iii  ;  on  Hatzer,  141. 

Kendrick,  Rev.  Ariel,  278. 

Kiffen,  William  :  his  life  and  works,  213, 
214,  218  ;  accused  of  blasphemy,  221  ; 
letter  to  Irish  Baptists,  224  ;  appointed 
alderman,  234;  favors  close  commun- 
ion, 263  :  as  preacher,  266  ;  pastor  in 
London,  275. 

Kincaid,  Rev.  Eugenio,  356.  _. 

Kingdom  of  God  :  burden  of  Christ's 
teaching,  23  :  relation  to  church,  24. 

Knapp,  Rev.  W.  I.,  407. 

KnoUys,  Hanserd  :  his  life  and  works, 
215-218  ;  advocates  close  communion, 
263  ;  residence  of,  in  America,  287. 

Kobner,  Julius,  398. 

Lapsi,  question  of  their  treatment,  63. 

Laying  on  of  hands,  29. 

Lathrop,  John,  206,  207,  213. 

Latimer,  bishop,  against  Anabaptists, 193. 

Lehmann,  Rev.  G.  W.,  398. 

Lichtenstein  :  lords  of,  become  Anabap- 
tists, 154  :  surrender  Hiibmaier,  156. 

Lincoln,  John  Smyth  at,  202. 

Locke,  John,  on  toleration,  235. 

Lollards,  90. 

Long  Parliament,  219. 

Loomis,  Rev.  Ebenezer,  323. 

Lord's  Supper  :  in  New  Testament,  28  ; 
when  celebrated,  34. 

Lord's  Day  :  observed  from  apostolic 
times,  33  ;  not  confounded  with  Sab- 
bath, 34. 

Louisiana  purchase,  324. 

Louis    Philippe,    sanctions   persecution, 

394- 

Lower  Canada,  Baptists  in,  278. 

Ludlow,  General,  on  Harrison's  death, 
229. 

Lush,  Sir  Robert,  261. 

Luther :  his  doctrine  of  the  eucharist, 
52  :  compared  to  Savonarola,  86,  87  ; 
inconsistency  of,  102  ;  as  a  scholar, 
150;  his  brave  words  at  Worms,  161  ; 
against  Anabaptists,  162  :  advice  of, 
to  Elector,  163  ;  his  tract  on  the  peas- 
ants, 169  ;  opposed  by  Miinzer,  170  ; 
his  second  tract  on  peasants,  173. 

Lyons  and  Waldenses,  119. 

McAll  mission,  395. 

McCoy,  Rev.  Isaac  :  preaches  first  ser- 
mon in  Chicago,  321  ;  missionary  to 
Indians,  325. 

McLaren,  Alexander,  261. 

McLean,  Archibald,  262,  263. 

McMaster,  William,  founds  a  university, 
284. 

McMaster.  Mrs.  (Moulton),  277,  284. 

Madison  University,  356. 

Magistracy,  English  Baptists  on,  211 
(see  Sword). 


428 


INDEX 


Mani  and  his  teachings,  75. 

Manichaean  sects,  55,  60,  75,  102. 

Manning,  James  :  pastor  of  Providence 
Church,  293 ;  college  president,  310, 
3^4  ;  pupil  at  Hopewell  Academy,  352  ; 
life  and  labors  of,  353. 

Mantz,  Felix  :  Swiss  Anabaptist,  135  ; 
imprisoned  at  Zurich,  137;  drowned, 
139:  letter  to  Miinzer,  171. 

Maoris,  mission  to,  285. 

Marshall,  Rev.  Daniel,  318. 

Mary,  Virgin,  exaltation  of,  55. 

Mason,  Rev.  Nathan,  277. 

Mass  (see  Transubstantiation). 

Massachusetts  :  General  court  of,  con- 
demns Baptists,  296  ;  Baptists  in  the 
colony  of,  ibid.;  Baptists'  rapid  growth 
in,  after  Great  Awakening,  309  ;  char- 
ter of  1691,  301  ;  religious  liberty  in,  320. 

Matthys,  Jan  :  disciple  and  successor  of 
Hofmann,  171  ;  goes  to  Munster,  178  ; 
his  death,  179. 

Maximilla,  Montanist  prophetess.  57,  59. 

Melanchthon  :  reception  of  the  Zwickau 
prophets  by,  148  ;  as  a  scholar,  150  ;  on 
persecution,  181. 

Menno  Simons  :  his  early  life,  184  ;  con- 
version of,  185  ;  repudiates  Miinster- 
ites,  186;  extensive  labors  of,  187. 

Mennonites  :  the  so-called,  in  Lancaster 
County,  143 ;  origin  of,  184  ;  tolerated 
in  Holland,  189  ;  practise  affusion,  190  ; 
dissensions  among,  191  ;  severity  of 
their  discipline,  192  ;  go  to  England, 
193,  seq.  ;  Doctor  Some  on,  196  ;  rela- 
tions of,  with  John  Smyth,  204;  with 
General  Baptists,  209  ;  in  the  United 
States,  392  ;  in  Russia,  406. 

Methodists  :  origin  of  name,  243  ;  growth 
of,  244. 

Miller,   William,  and  his  teachings,  393. 

Milton,  rebukes  Presbyterians,  220. 

Missions,  first  Christian,  202. 

Missionary  Societies  (Foreign)  :  Baptist 
Union,  256  ;  Canadian  Baptist,  282  ; 
Conference  of  Swedish  churches,  404  ; 
Danish  Baptist  Union,  399  ;  English 
Missionary,  252  ;  English  Home  Mis- 
sion, 256  ;  German  Baptist  Union,  399  ; 
Grande  Ligne,  283  ;  Irish  Home  Slis- 
sion,  ibid.  :  Maritime    Provinces,  282. 

Missionary  Societies  (American)  :  Gen- 
eral Convention,  325,  332  ;  Home  Mis- 
sion, 327,  329,  330,  347,  375  ;  Mission- 
ary Union,  349,  374,  377  ;  Massachu- 
setts, 312;  Southern  Baptist  Conven- 
tion, 347  ;  Women's,  375. 

Mitchell,  Rev.  Edward  C.,  396. 

Mixed  membership  of  Baptist  churches, 
264. 

Moenster,  Rev.  P.  C.,405. 

Monachisui,  origin  of,  55. 

Montanus  and  his  teachings,  57,  58. 

Montanists  :  origin  of,  57  ;  doctrines  of, 
58-60 ;  their  idea  of  prophecy,  59 ; 
chiliasm  among,  60;  condemned  by 
bishop  of  Rome,  61  :  decline,  62  ;  prac- 
tise immersion,  ibid. 

Moravians,  origin  of,  93,  seq. 


Morgan,  English  priest,  execution  of, 
220. 

Morgan.  William,  mysterious  disappear- 
ance of,  341. 

Moulton,  Ebenezer,  276. 

MUhlhausen,   disorders  at,  171,  172,  396. 

MiJnster  :  beginning  of  reforms  at,  178; 
disorders  in  and  capture  of,  179  ;  Cor- 
nelius on,  180 ;  Ulhorn  on,  ibid.  ; 
doings  of,  repudiated  by  Menno,  186  ; 
still  a  byword,  396. 

Mijnzer,  Thomas ;  in  Zwickau,  148  ; 
early  labors  of,  170;  e.xpelled  from 
Zwickau,  171  ;  opposes  infant  baptism, 
//'/(/.  ;  defeat  and  death  of,  172  ;  not  an 
Anabaptist,  174. 

Myles,  John  :  founds  church  in  Wales, 
269  ;  emigrates  to  America,  298. 

Mysticism  :  Denck's,  159  ;  taught  by 
Zwickau  prophets,  148. 

Netherlands  :   revolt  of,  189  ;  toleration 

in,  ibid. 
New  Hampshire,  first  Baptists  in,  313. 
New   Jersey,  first    Baptist  churches  of, 

304- 
"New  Lights,"  309,  318. 
New  Orleans,  battle  of,  324. 
Newton  Theological  Institution,  354. 
New  York,  early  Baptists  of,  303,  seq. 
New  Zealand,  Baptists  in,  285. 
Nilsson,  F.  O.,  400,  401. 
Nitzschmann,  David,  94. 
Non-resistance,  144,  160. 
North  Carolina,  first  Baptists  in,  307. 
Norway,  Baptists  of,  403. 
Novatian,  his  clinic  baptism,  48,  63. 
Novatians,   origin    and   history   of,   63, 

seq. 
Nova  Scotia,  Baptists  in,  276,  277,  seq, 
Nuremberg,  Denck  at,  157. 

Qicolampadius  :  at  Angrogne,  126  ;  friend 
of  HUbmaier,  152  ;  defends  infant  bap- 
tism, 153;  teacher  of  Denck,  157; 
visited  by  Miinzer,  171. 

"Old  Lights."  387. 

Olney,  Thomas,  successor  of  Roger 
Williams,  292,  293. 

Oncken,  J.  G.  :  colporter,  361  ;  his  life 
and  works,  397;  baptizes  Nilsson,  400  ; 
baptizes  Danish  converts,  405. 

Ongole,  notable  baptisms  at,  14. 

Ontario  and  Quebec,  Baptists  in,  281, 
seq. 

"  Open  "  communion  :  in  England,  212  ; 
controversies  about,  262  ;  in  Wales, 
272  ;  in  Nova  Scotia,  278. 

Ordinances,  how  many,  29. 

Origen,  reply  of,  to  Celsus,  41. 

Original   Freewill  Baptists,  385. 

Osiander,  work  at  Nuremberg,  157. 

Oscar  I.,  King  of  Sweden,  favors  relig- 
ious liberty,  403. 

Oxford  Church,  205. 

Painter,   Thomas,    opposes   infant   bap- 
tism, 296. 
Particular  Baptists:  origin  of,  205  ;  first 


INDEX 


429 


Confession  of,  211  ;   Hyper-Calvinism 
among,   240;    change  in    theology  ot, 
248  ;  prevail  in  United  States,  306. 
Pastors'  College,  260,  267. 
Patrick,  apostle  to  Ireland,  72,  seq. 
Paul,  Apostle  :  conversion  of,  17  ;  broad- 
ened  ideas   of,  19 ;   missionary  labors 
of,  21. 
Paulicians,  75.  ,  ,    ,  r 

Peck,  Kev.   John   M.,  life  and  labors  ol, 

325,  seq. 
Pearson,  Rev.  Nicholas,  277,  278. 
Peasants  :  condition   in   Germany,  167  ; 
twelve   articles   of,    169;    defeat    of,  at 
Frankenhausen,  172  ;  Luther's  tracts 
against,  169,  173. 
Pennsylvania  :  first  Baptists  of,  304. 
Pepys'  account  of  Harrison's  death,  229. 
Pentecost,  and  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  14. 
Person    of  Christ,    controversies    about, 

67,  seq. 
Perpetua,  martyrdom  of,  38. 
Persecution  :  the  first,  16  ;  the  Neronian, 
35;  TertuUianon,  37;  the  Diocletian, 
63  ;'  result  of  uniting  Church  and  State, 
95;  Fathers  on,  97  ;  fundamental  prin- 
cip'le  of,  97,  98  ;  of  Albigenses,  104  ;  by 
the  Inquisition,  105,  seq.:  of  Waldenses, 
127  ;  opposed  by  Anabaptists,  161  ;  of 
Anabaptists  in  Switzerland,  137,  seq.  : 
of  German  Anabaptists,  161,  seq. : 
Cornelius  on,  165  ;  causes  fanaticism, 
167;  Philip  of  Hesse  on,  i8i  ;  in  the 
Netherlands,  188;  by  Henry  VIII., 
193  ;  under  Edward  VI.,  194  ;  by  Eliza- 
beth, 195  ;  by  Presbyterians,  220,  221  ; 
under  Charles  II.,  231  :  of  French  Bap- 
tists, 395  ;  of  German  Baptists,  398  ;  of 
Baptists  in  Sweden,  402,  seq.  :  of  Dan- 
ish Baptists,  405  ;  of  Baptists  in  Russia, 
406. 
Peter,  Apostle:  his  confession,  5;  his  re- 
buke of  Ananias,  15  ;  preaches  to  Cor- 
nelius, 17,  18  ;  never  bishop  of  Rome, 
22  ;  Rome's  audacious  theft  of,  72. 
Peter  of  Bruys  and  his  work,  III. 
Peter  the  Venerable,  his  treatise  against 

the  Petrobrusians,  111-115. 
Peter  Waldo,  history  of,  119-122. 
Petrobrusians,  their  alleged  errors,  112- 

"5-  .    .  , 

Philadelphia  Association  :  origin  ot, 
306  ;  adopts  Confession,  238,  306  ;  early 
strength  of,  317:  leader  in  organiza- 
tion, 332;  founds  college  in  Rhode  Is- 
land, 353;  founds  Columbian  Uuiver- 
sity,  356. 

Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  181. 

Philip,  deacon  and  apostle,  17. 

Phillimore  on  Stuart  period,  242. 

"  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  233. 

Piscataway:  (N.  H.),  Hanserd  Knollys 
at,  216;    (N.    J.),   church   formed  at, 

3°4-  „     . 

Pliny,  letter  to  Trajan,  23,  35. 
Popes:  Adrian  IV.,  83;  Alexander  III. 

121,    122  ;    Alexander   VI.,    85,  86,  87 

Gregory  VII.,   80;  Innocent    II.,   82. 

Innocent     III.,    99,    103,    109;     John 


XXIII.,  92  :  Leo  the  Great,  98  ;  Lucian 

III.,  127  ;  Martin  V.,  92. 
Poland,  Anabaptists  of,  182. 
Powell,  Vavasor,  life  and  work  of,   270, 

Prag,  scene  of  Hus's  labors,  89. 
Presbyterians,    oppose    toleration,    219, 

221. 
Priesthood  (see  Sacerdotalism). 
Primitive  Baptists,  388. 
Prince    Edward's    Island,    Baptists    in, 

280. 
Priscilla,  Montanist   prophetess,   58,  59. 
Priscillian,  persecution  of,  97. 
Prophecy,  among  Montanists,  59. 
Purgatory  :   rejected   by   Petrobrusians, 

114  ;  by  Waldenses,  124. 

Randall,  Rev.  Benjamin,  385. 
Ratisbon    (Regensburg),   Hubmaier   at, 

150,154. 
Raymond  of  Toulouse,  104. 
Read,  Rev.  H.  W.,  329. 
Reformation  :    preceded   by  evangelica 
movements,  110;  coincides  with  social 
revolution,    169;    the    true,    i8r!  ;     an 
alleged,  342. 
Regeneration  :  taught  to  Nicodemus,  24, 
25;    should    precede  baptism,    25 :    an 
unwelcome  truth,  44  ;  in  baptism,  46  ; 
condition  of  church-membership,  411. 
Religious    liberty  :  advocated   by  Dona- 
tists,  65;  Luther  on,  162  :  advocated  by 
Terwoort,  196  ;  in  Confession  of  1644, 
212;  established  in  Rhode  Island,  290  ; 
in  Virginia,  319;  triumph  of  the  princi- 
ple of,  416,  seq. 
Restoration  (of  the  Stuarts),  226,  241- 
Retribution,  doctrine  of,  420. 
Reublin,    William,   baptizes   Hiibmaier, 

152. 
Revelation  of  John,  22. 
Revivals,  decline  of,  351,  381. 
Revolution  :  effect  on   Baptist  churches, 

313  ;  Morgan  Edwards  in,  315. 
Rhees,  Rush,  357. 

Rhode  Island:  colony  founded,  290  ;  es- 
tablishes religious  liberty,  ibid.  ;    ob- 
tains charter,  295  ;    Six-principle  Bap- 
tists in,  302. 
Rhode    Island    College  :    founded,    310 : 
Edwards  promotes.  315;  plan  for,  353. 
Rhodes,  William,  304. 
Riemann,   Henry,  Anabaptist,  drowned 

at  Zurich,  139. 
Rice,    Luther:     becomes    Baptist,    331: 
returns    to    America,    ibid.  ;     tour    of 
churches,  332  ;  connection  with  Colum- 
bian University,  356. 
River  Brethren,  392. 
Robinson,  John,  202,  203. 
Robinson,  Dr.  E.  G.,  357- 
Rockefeller,   John   D.,  and  his  gifts  to 

education,  358,  371. 
Romanism  :  beginnings  of,   54  :    rejected 

by  Waldenses,  124. 
Rostan,  Rev.  J.  C,  394- 
Rothmann,  Bernard,  Lutheran  preacher 
at  Miinster,  178. 


430 


INDEX 


Russia  :  Baptists  in,  406  ;  laws  on  religion, 

ibid. 
Ryland,  Dr.  John  :  baptizes  Carey,  250; 

his  Hyper-Calvinism,  251. 
Ryle,  Bishop,  on   Church   of    England, 

243- 

Sacerdotalism,  origin  of,  46,  52,  seq. 

Sacramentalism  :  origin  of,  46,  52,  seq.  ; 
in  Britain,  74;  denied,  102. 

Saillens,  Rev.  Reuben,  396. 

St.  Gall,  Denck  at,  158. 

Sakellarios,  Rev.  D.  Z.,  407. 

Samaria,  Philip  preaches  in,  17. 

Samson,  his  sale  of  indulgences,  132. 

Sandemanians  or  Glasites,  272,  273. 

Saratoga  Convention,  340. 

Savonarola:  evangelic  teaching  by,  9  ; 
birth  and  education  of,  86  ;  his  great 
work  at  Florence,  87:  overthrow  of, 
88  ;  varying  estimates  of,  89, 

Battler,  Michael,  144. 

Sears,  Rev.  Karnas,  397. 

Seminaries,  theological  :  Hamilton,  356  ; 
Hamburg,  400  ;  Rochester,  357  ;  Stock- 
holm, 404  ;  other,  356  ;  growth  of,  369, 
seq. 

Separatists:  English,  201,202,  206,210, 
216  ;  relation  of,  to  early  Baptists,  262. 

"  Separates,"  309,  318. 

Separate  Baptists,  387. 

Servetus,  burning  of,  139. 

Seventh-day  Baptists,  230,  267,  390. 

Schaffhausen,  144,  150,  151. 

Schleitheim,  confession  of  Baptists  at, 
144. 

Schroeder,  G.  W.,  400,  401,  402. 

Scott,  Walter,  introduces  baptism  "for 
remission  of  sins,"  343. 

Scotland,  Baptists  in,  272,  seq, 

Screven,  Rev.  William,  301. 

Scriptures,  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 
102,  123,  134. 

Scrooby  and  the  Separatists,  202,  203. 

Sinclair,  Sir  William,  becomes  Baptist, 
272. 

Six-principle  Baptists  :  in  England,  267  ; 
in  Providence,  293,  305  ;  in  Newport, 
295:  in  Rhode  Island,  302;  present 
condition  of,  384. 

Smith,  Sydney,  critic  of  missions,  254. 

Smith,  Rev.  Hezekiah  :  life  and  labors 
of,  310-312  ;  pupil  at  Hopewell,  352. 

Smyth,  John  :  his  church,  4  ;  his  early 
life,  201  ;  becomes  Separatist,  202  ;  bap- 
tizes himself,  203  ;   death  of,  204. 

Societies  :  American  Bible,  336  ;  Ameri- 
can Bible  Union,  337;  American  and 
Foreign  Bible,  ibid.  ;  Baptist  Young 
People's  Union,  360.  (See  also  Mis- 
sionary Societies.) 

Societies,  problem  of  their  relation  to  the 
churches.  382. 

Social  Brethren,  393. 

Social  revolution  :  in  Germany,  168  ;  re- 
lation to  it  of  Anabaptists,  174. 

Some,  Doctor,  his  "  Godly  Treatise,"  196. 

Sommers,  Dr.  Charles  G.,  338. 

Southern  Baptist  Convention  :  its  organ- 


ization, 347  ;  its  work,  348,  376  ;  mission 
of,  in  Italy,  408. 

South  Carolina,  first  Baptists  in,  306. 

Spain,  Baptist  mission  in,  407. 

Speyer,  Diet  of,  164. 

Spilsbury,  John  :  Baptist  preacher,  206  ; 
favors  close  communion,  263. 

Spurgeon,  Charles  H.  :  his  life  and  work, 
25g,  seq.  ;  on  the  communion  question, 
265  ;  "  never  changed  an  opinion,"  418. 

Stanley,  Dean,  on  baptism,  413. 

State  Conventions,  aim  and  work  of,  351. 

Staughton,  Dr.  Wm.,  356. 

Stearns,  Rev.  Shubael,  318. 

Stephen,  stoning  of,  16. 

Stockwell  Orphanage,  260. 

Strassburg  :  Hofmann  at,  176  ;  Mennonite 
synod  at,  191. 

Strong,  Rev.  Augustus  H.,  357. 

StUbner,  Marcus,  148. 

Stundists,  of  Russia,  406. 

Stuyvesant,  Peter,  governor  of  New 
York,  302,  303. 

Succession:  Roman  theory  of,  5;  Bap- 
tist theory  of,  69,  seq.  ;  the  true  apos- 
tolic, 7. 

Sundaj'-schools,  growth  of,  359. 

Swansea  Baptist  C^hurch  :  in  Wales,  269  ; 
in  Massachusetts,  299. 

Sweden,  Baptists  in,  400,  seq. 

Swedenborg,  148. 

Switzerland,  condition  of,  in  sixteenth 
century,  131. 

Sword  :  Anabaptist  doctrine  of,  144,  160 ; 
not  advocated  by  Hofmann,  175  ;  Hiib- 
maier  and  Denck  on,  176. 

Taggart,  "  Father,"  323. 

Tasmania,  Baptists  in,  286. 

Taylor,  Dan,  life  and  labors,  245. 

Taylor,  Dr.  G.  B.,  408. 

"  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  47, 

.5°- 

Tertullian  :  on  persecution,  37;  on  Per- 
petua  and  Felicitas,  38  ;  on  number  of 
Christians,  39 ;  his  apology,  41  ;  on 
baptism,  47  :  on  bishops,  62. 

Terwoort,  Hendrik,  Anabaptist  martyr, 
195,  196. 

Test  Act,  231. 

Thieffrey,  Rev.  Joseph,  394. 

Thoma,  Marcus,  148. 

Thomas,  Joshua,  on  Baptists  in  Wales, 
269. 

Thurloe :  his  "State  Papers"  quoted, 
225  ;  on  Vavasor  Powell,  270. 

Tippecanoe,  battle  of,  324. 

Toleration  :  Constantine's  edict  of,  39; 
opposed  in  Holland,  189;  rejected  by 
Presbyterians,  219,  seq.  ;  favored  by 
Cromwell,  221  ;  promised  by  Charles 
II.,  230;  Act  of,  235,  237,  24s;  in 
France,  395  ;  granted  in  Hamburg, 
399  ;  in  Sweden,  403  ;  in  Denmark,  405. 

Tombes,  Rev.  John,  favors  open  com- 
munion, 203. 

Toplady,  encomium  on  Gill,  240. 

Toulouse  :  Albigenses  at,  103  ;  council 
at,  128. 


INDEX 


431 


Traditores,  and  the  church,  64. 
Irajan:    correspondence  of,  with  Pliny, 

23;  his  persecution  of  Christians,  35. 
Transubstantiation  :   rejected  by  Petro- 

brusians,  113  :  by  Waldenses,  125. 
Triennial  Convention  :  origin  of,  332  ;  its 

home   missions,  325 ;   abandons  Peck, 

326 ;  divided,  347. 
Trine  immersion,  390,  392. 
Tunkers  (see  Dunkards). 
Two-seed-in-Spirit  Baptists,  389. 

Ulhorn,  on  Miinster  uproar,  180. 

Unitas  Fratrum  (see  Moravians). 

United  Baptists,  387. 

Unitarian  defection,  411. 

Universities:  Basel,  131,  157;  Brown, 
3S4>  372  (see  Rhode  Island  College)  ; 
Cambridge,  201,  215  ;  Chicago,  368,  371, 
372  ;  Columbian,  356  ;  Freiburg,  149  ; 
Ingolstadt,  150  ;  McMaster,  284  ;  Mad- 
ison (Colgate),  357;  Rochester,  357. 

Upper  Canada,  Baptists  in,  279. 

Vadian  :  on  origin  of  Anabaptists,  129  ; 

on  Denck,  159. 
Van  Meter,  Rev.  W.  C.,  408. 
Vane,  Sir  Henry,  293. 
Vaughn,  Rev.  William,  295. 
Venner,  Thomas,  226. 
Vermont,  first  Baptists  in,  313. 
Virginia,  Baptist  beginnings  in,  307. 
VoUer,  Rev.  James,  285. 

Wade,  Rev.  Jonathan,  356. 

Wales,  Baptists  in,  i(><)seq. 

Waldenses  :  origin  of,  119,  seq.  :  teach- 
ings of,  123,  seq.  :  affiliations  of,  126, 
seq.  ;  relations  of,  to  Anabaptists,  128. 

Ward,  Rev.  William,  baptized  the  Jud- 
sons,  331. 

Wedmore  Church,  205. 

Wellington,  Duke  of,  on  the  minister's 
"marching  orders,"  252. 

Wesley,  John,  life  and  labors  of,  243-245. 

Wesleyan  revival,  eflFect  on  Baptist 
growth,  256. 

Wheeler,  Rev.  O.  C,  329. 

Whitefield,  George,  evangelist,  243,  309. 


Wiberg.  Rev.  Andreas,  361,  401. 

Wiclif,  John,  his  teachings,  90. 

Wickendon,  William:  "elder  "at  Prov- 
idence, 292,  293 ;  preaches  in  New 
York,  303. 

Widemann,  Jacob,  155. 

Wightman,  Edward,  Anabaptist  martyr, 
197. 

Wightman,  Rev.  Valentine,  304. 

William  of  Orange,  his  tolerance,  189. 

William  III.  and  toleration,  235. 

Williams,  Roger  :  and  John  Smyth,  203; 
early  life  of,  288  ;  his  banishment  from 
Massachusetts,  289;  founds  Provi- 
dence, 290 ;  baptism  of,  291  ;  com- 
pared to  Doctor  Clarke,  294  ;  his 
"  Bloody  Tenet,"  295  ;  small  effect  of, 
on  Baptists,  304. 

Willmarth,  Rev.  Isaac,  394. 

Wilson,  Rev.  B.  G.,  285. 

Winnebrenner,  Rev.  John,  and  his  fol- 
lowers, 391. 

Wittenberg,  Zwickau  prophets  at,  148. 

Wolfe,  General,   victory  of,  at  Quebec, 

327- 
Woman's  Missionary  Societies,  375. 
Worship  in  early  churches,  32,  33. 

Yates  and  Pearce,  their  Bengali  version, 

258. 
Young  people's  work,  359,  seg. 

Zinzendorf,  Count,  94. 

Zurich  :  government  of,  131  ;  first  dis- 
putation at,  132  ;  council  sustains  re- 
form, 133;  second  disputation  at,  135, 
151  ;  third  disputation  at,  136  ;  council 
condemns  Anabaptism,  137 ;  decrees 
drowning,  138 ;  suppresses  Anabap- 
tists, 141. 

Zwickau  :  prophets  of,  148,  171  ;  Miinzer 
at,  170. 

Zwingli,  Ulric  :  his  early  life,  131  ; 
preaches  pure  gospel,  132  ;  avows  radi- 
cal principals,  133  ;  becomes  conserva- 
tive, 134:  breaks  with  radicals,  135; 
argues  for  baptism  of  children,  136  ;  re- 
sponsible for  persecutions,  139  ;  friend 
of  HUbmaier,  151. 


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